Mobile Apps, Exit buttons and permissions [duplicate]

Question

This question hasn't been answered thoroughly in other threads. Why don't android apps have an exit button rather than a force close in settings?

My question is not about system memory usage or battery usage. It's about permissions. Does leaving an app running in the background render the entire purpose behind permissions useless?

Some have asked "Why do you need to close it at all" but what I'm asking is "why do I need to leave it running in the background when it's not in use?"

For example, take this into consideration, I have, as most mobile users have 100+ apps on our phones. I use maybe 5-10 a day but maybe 20-30 a week and maybe 50 of them a month. Why would anyone need those extra 20-50 apps running all week or month in the background scraping data, marking info or syncing.

If Permissions are designed to only work when using the app, once it's been opened, it's running all the time rendering the purpose of granting permissions "only while using" completely useless for the user doesn't it? These permissions settings are set to "when the app is running only" which by default is all of the time once it's been opened. (Many open at startup or by default) What's the point of permissions then?

Using a "close all" app to force close, it's evident that all 100 apps are constantly running because at one point or another it was opened and uninstalling an app while not "in use" doesn't solve this situation because you may use it again at some point in the future, sometimes often.

the idea that it's quicker for the user seems misleading or convenient for developers. Whether I open an app that's already running or not is basically the same amount of time.

n android designed it this way to permanently collect data, mostly to build marketing profiles, and to keep all apps synced for vulnerability security. There is a valid reason for closing apps beyond the power and battery usage when they're not in use.

the answer to the original question may lie in the notion that developers don't want their apps ever closed because they gain the most data out of it running on your phone 24/7

Mods, it seems you're too quick to react, close or censor a very basic simple question like I'm attacking the very essence of the ground your throne stands upon and you're too sensitive for this discussion I was polite and censored in my original comment and was told I was impolite and form a new question. so I formed a polite question and now the comments are impolite but they're not censored but rather my question is closed for being similar to another question that was only answered one sided. Is it possible to have an objective discussion that weighs both sides of this issue without predispositions or bias? This site is worse than reddit JFC!

Answer 1

This question is ill-formed and ill-informed.

"why do I need to leave it running in the background when it's not in use?"

Because it comes with concrete benefits.

• A program that is closed cannot playback music in the background, it cannot send you notifications and it cannot keep your location updated. This would mean that to receive SMS or whatsapp messages, you'd need to keep the app open all the time, or remember to periodically check for messages, and that if you pull your phone out of your pocket while navigating a city, you'd need to wait for the phone to figure out where you are for several minutes.
• A program that is closed loses its state, so you cannot continue where you left off.
• A program that is closed needs to be restarted, which can take a long time especially on the weak hardware that mobile OSes originally were designed for.

Windows is in fact the oddity here that it ties programs to a window. macOS uses a pattern very similar to android where closing a window doesn't necessarily close the program. And Linux, as per usual, can optionally do either.

It is also worth pointing out that "running in the background" isn't the same as minimizing a window in Windows. The apps will typically have a much more limited access to system resources while in the background. For example, they could poll for incoming emails once every 5 minutes, but would be completely dormant (abeit loaded) outside of that,

If Permissions are designed to only work when using the app, once it's been opened, it's running all the time rendering the purpose of granting permissions "only while using" completely useless for the user doesn't it?

They are different permissions. On Android, ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION and ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION are the permissions you're asked for typically, and which grant the app permission to know your location while you're looking at it. ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION is a separate permission which is hard restricted.

Whether I open an app that's already running or not is basically the same amount of time.

No. I invite you to try that with very large apps, such as bigger games. Start something like Genshin Impact, switch to a messaging app, and then back to the game. Closing the apps in-between is both slower and much more disruptive.