An auto opt-in is an opt-out.
this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2025
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Privacy
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Where in Settings would this be? Cellular?
Yes. Under cellular. Might be a Verizon-only thing.
I would love enchanted apps.
this is why t-mobile is pushing t-life so hard.
on android side, was shocked by how much junk and bloatware and how the setup process is tainted with paid suggestions and install offers in this day and age.
I think your isp could probably infer this all already from your internet traffic
Yeah but if Verizon were to, say, collect usage data so they could figure out where to charge more to unthrottle specific apps, this type of data could be quite useful.
I don’t know all the technical aspects of what my carrier might know, but I think that if you load the Chase app, for example, it’s basically just sending an https call to Chase. Not sure if Verizon would know whether that came from an app or browser.
Additionally, if you use a VPN, I don’t know if Verizon would see any of that data. But again, I’m no expert.
Exactly! They wouldn't install spyware on your phone if it didn't give them more/better information on you.
Yeah seems like it might have the benefit of VPN circumvention. I would be sending data to Verizon about my app usage and they'd get information they wouldn't otherwise if I'm using a VPN.
They can't. That's the primary purpose of a VPN.
Sony has that too. And essential apps (dialer, contacts, gallery) break if you remove Play Services.
There are FOSS alternatives for all of those on F-Droid. But removing Play Services does break google maps, which is the one app of theirs I still make use of
I am disgusted by this behaviour
I looked further into this and I think this is just really bad communication on Apple's part. This is network slicing and basically lets apps call for a dedicated 5G connection tailored for them.
So if this is on, a compatible app can say, "I'm streaming live video, please prioritize for low latency and packet loss", or like a navigation app can say "I'm a background service, I don't care about latency, packet loss, or throughput stability".
It isn't sharing exactly what apps are being used, just what type of network service the apps need. So while Verizon might be able to infer what type of activities you're doing, your actual activity is encrypted and can still be hidden behind a VPN. This seems like it's just for better network stability and speed, and I wouldn't consider it a violation of privacy.
What the fuck!?