Background Location Finds A Loop(t)gap On The iPhone
September 4, 2009 ·Filed Under Technology News
A location-based social network is not going to truly take off on the iPhone until it can run in the background. You know it, I know it, and even Loopt, which makes such an app, knows it. That’s why they’ve done something about it.
Beginning today, Loopt is rolling out a trial for background location on the iPhone. Yes, you read that right.
If you’ve been following the iPhone at all by the past couple of years, you’re undoubtedly asking yourself how that is possible, since the device does not allow third party apps to run in the background. Has Apple changed its mind about background apps? Not yet. Instead, Loopt is partnering with other companies in the mobile industry for what it’s calling “Always-On Location Service.”
Loopt co-founders Sam Altman and Alok Deshpande would not reveal the names of any of these partners, noting that the system set up to build that happen is very “complex” and involves a number of players. But at least one of them has to be AT&T, which is, of course, the network the iPhone runs on. Loopt, which seems to be particularly good at carrier relationships, has cut deals with AT&T in the past.
What that means is that these guys have gotten around the iPhone’s limitation by keeping a pipeline open on AT&T’s side that is constantly sending your location info to Loopt. that doesn’t require any app to be running on your iPhone — not even Loopt — and the location notes will be sent even when you’re on a signal or surfing the web on your iPhone. Most importantly, considering there is no app mandatory to do that, it doesn’t drain your battery life, Altman tells us.
So what does Apple think about all of that? Altman refused to comment on that, but given the cordial relationship Loopt has had with Apple (being featured both at WWDC last year and in an iPhone commercial), it seems likely that the two sides at least talked about that before Loopt pulled the trigger. That said, considering no application is actually involved in that process, it looks like Loopt has essentially found a loophole around Apple on that one.
Privacy will undoubtedly be a major concern with such a feature. But Altman notes that you have to go to a website to actually sign up for that, and you can turn it off or on at anytime on that site or via an SMS notice. And he believes some
I agree, that seems like a huge win for Loopt (well, whether users are okay with paying for the service, more on that below). I’ll be using it a lot more now considering first of all, I don’t actually have to open the app to update — but more importantly, none of my contacts will either. So seldom, I probably will be opening the app itself more now too considering of that. And eventually, you could see such background location functionality playing a roll in advertising on the iPhone.
They way that will work is that you will be able to receive alerts (emails or text messages) when citizens or places of interest are nearby to your current location. Loopt can additionally now build what it calls a “Life Graph” for you — basically, keep a log of where you’ve been. Again, that will be opt-in.
Altman would not comment on whether its competitors like Whrrl or Brightkite could additionally strike similar deals, but Deshpande confirms that no one else is offering that (at least not yet). And Loopt is getting ready to come out with a version 2.0 of its iPhone app that should take on other competitors like Foursquare.
As it seems clear that AT&T is the key factor in making something like that happen, it’s nice to see them doing something innovative to actually help their iPhone customers get a feature that many of us have expanded wanted. Assuming it works well, it might even be suitable to manufacture us forget the whole months-late MMS thing.
But that good news has a price. $3.99 a month, to be specific, which users can sign up for on that site. Initially, Loopt is going to limit the trial to 5,000 testers.
Disclosure: Loopt offers a TechCrunch branded version of the service here.
[photo: flickr/Rev Dan Catt]
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