How To Stop Facebook Background Activity On iPhone
Last updated on September 27th, 2022 at 03:51 pm
Posted in How To by Patricia on September 26, 2022Are you looking for a way to stop Facebook background app activity on iPhone? You’ve disabled the permission in Settings but FaceBook keeps running in the background and drains the battery of your iOS device?
FaceBook Background Activity Problem
This unexpected behavior has been reported by Omar:
“Seeing significant facebook background activity although the Background App Refresh is turned OFF! anyone else?”
We’ve found several other reports on Reddit:
“Facebook background activity too high”
and another user showing 4h and 45 minutes of usage in the background:
“Why is Facebook background usage so high?”
Are you experiencing the same issue? Confirm the problem in the comments please!
How to Stop FaceBook Background Activity
Mashable reports that Facebook and Instagram are still secretly tracking iPhone users, although the permission is denied in Setting!
This is done thanks to a loophole that allows them ot inject javascript tracking codes into websites that users visit via the in-app browsers in Facebook and Instagram for iOS. Here is what you should do:
Update, September 27: Fix Added
New Fix: Turn Off Bluetooth For Facebook
According to David, Facebook is using the iPhone’s Bluetooth connectivity to ping nearby devices and determine your location, in order to be able to personalize ads for you.
This is the cause of the recent spike in Facebook background activity. Here is how to stop it:
- Open Settings and scroll for the Facebook app. Tap it.
- Restrict the app’s permission to use your device’s Bluetooth hardware, by turning off the switch!
Report: Does this fix help? Is the Facebook background activity stopped? Share your feedback in the comments.
Turns out that Facebook uses something called “beacons” which basically transmits weak signals through Bluetooth to nearby devices in order to determine your location and target personalized ads for you. This is what caused Facebook’s background activity on my iPhone, and after turning off Bluetooth the background activity reached close to zero. I recommend trying this fix, it may help. I will also state that this kind of activity is illegal by Facebook and they are being sued by Apple for violating the latter’s policies.
- 1. Open Settings -> General -> Background App Refresh.
- 2. Scroll for Facebook and make sure that the switch is turned OFF.
- Open Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Tracking.
- Search for Facebook under the Apps That Requested to Track section and make sure that permission isn’t allowed!
- Open Facebook in Safari and log-in to your Facebook account.
- Use the Share icon and tap Add to Home Screen to create a shortcut to your Facebook timeline on your iPhone’s Home Screen, for easy access.
- Delete Facebook App from iPhone.
1. Turn Off In Settings
First, make sure that Facebook background activity is restricted on your iPhone:
Tip: To be extra cautious, you can disable Background App Refresh completely on your iPhone.
2. Request App Not To Track
Next, make sure that you’re not allowing Facebook to track you. This also leads to background app activity:
Fact: as mentioned above, this might be not enough as Meta has found a loophole and continues to track your iPhone even without your consent.
3. Facebook With Safari
This is extreme if you’re a Facebook-fan, but it will surly stop the unacceptable Facebook background activity:
Fact: The downside of this workaround is that if you administrate Facebook Pages you won’t be able to do it from the browser version.
4. Update To iOS 16
It seems that most users are experiencing not allowed Facebook background activity are running iOS 15. Apple might have patched additional loopholes used by Meta to track iPhone users in the new OS.
We recommend you to update to iOS 16 if you haven’t already!
Have you managed to fix Facebook background activity issue? Do you have a better solution? Share your feedback in the comments.
Related: Check out the new Facebook widgets for the redesigned iOS 16 Lock Screen!
Doesnt help
Sorry to hear this. Not sure what else to suggest except ditching the app.
This problem actually started since updating to IOS 16. It occurs to me mainly while charging (could be working for hours in the background) and to a lesser extent while running on battery. Only option for now is removing the application. Taking into account the effect on battery life is rather minimal at least for me (iPhone 13 pro max with 99% battery health), it still bothers me as this shouldn’t be happening.
Thanks for the feedback David. That’s an interesting find. So, this might be an iOS 16 bug or Facebook not fine tuned enough for iOS 16.
Turns out that Facebook uses something called “beacons” which basically transmits weak signals through Bluetooth to nearby devices in order to determine your location and target personalized ads for you. This is what caused Facebook’s background activity on my iPhone, and after turning off Bluetooth the background activity reached close to zero. I recommend trying this fix, it may help. I will also state that this kind of activity is illegal by Facebook and they are being sued by Apple for violating the latter’s policies.
Thanks for the follow up David. We’re updating your fix in the main article. Yes, we’re aware about the lawsuit. We appreciate your contribution!
I have my blue tooth shut off for facebook and it still allows facebook background activity. This did not start until did latest update. You are unable to shut off the refresh background app in settings when you open it for Facebook. Hopefully this get fixed sooner rather than later.
Same here. Bakground activity while charging. Strange.
Thanks for confirming.