Reports about the iOS version of Facebook draining batteries quickly surfaced online. The social media firm swiftly rolled out an update when it heard the news, saying that the issues have been resolved now in the latest version.
Just a few days ago, it was discovered that the Facebook app was the culprit of the battery drain issue, and it was accused of tracking iOS users. When the issue garnered more attention, Facebook engineer Ari Grant addressed it, saying that it was not "related to location."
"We found a few key issues and have identified additional improvements, some of which are in the version of the app that was released today," Grant posted on his Facebook page.
He continued to explain that one of the issues was related to a "CPU spin" in the network code, causing the Facebook app to use up more of the battery's juice than intended. Next, the second issue has something to do with the audio of a Facebook video continuing to run silently in the background even after the Facebook app is closed. This is the reason why the Facebook app stays active, and as a result, it keeps consuming the phone's resources unnecessarily.
Grant then wrapped things up by saying that the battery drain issue is not because Facebook tracks iOS phone's locations.
"The issues we have found are not caused by the optional Location History feature in the Facebook app or anything related to location," Grant continued, making things clear about the location issue.
Bugs happen most of the time, so Facebook didn't exactly commit a sin here. However, some online users suspect that Facebook was up to something, but its plans were foiled, as Apple spotted them and didn't like it one bit. Setting aside the conspiracy theory and all that, Facebook patched up the bug, and that's all that matters.
The updated Facebook app for iOS is up in the App Store now.
Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns | Flickr
