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Play Service green dot location indicator and the SOLUTION (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 1 year ago by imrichyouknow@sh.itjust.works to c/askandroid@lemdro.id

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The first part is where I posted it on numerous places asking for help with no luck.

I have not found anyone talking about this which makes me wonder if I'm the only one facing this issue.Essentially Play service uses the location permission every single time I wake up my phone. 23.35.14 still uses location every single time I unlock the phone even in safe mode, the green dot privacy indicator pops up all the time. As early as the version I have tested, 23.26.17 doesn't have this issue.I have this issue with all recent updates on Android 13. For now, I have to uninstall the Play service update so it won't get updated.Should I back up my data and do a flash with full wipes? Are you facing this issue?Edit: I'm on stock Android 13.To be honest, I am slightly disappointed as this is the 7(?)th Android system Google has made for its Pixel phones. Google has full control over the system and the Play service, unlike other vendors and I'm still facing this kind of weird issue that I just don't remember ever happening on iOS aside from the poor performance on iOS 11.

This is the part where I finally tackled the issue after a full month of research(started having this issue in early August as I can remember).

Edit 2: I have finally figured out what it is, It's the "Unknown tracker alerts" under "safety and emergency" within the Play Service settings. This seems like a new feature and I doubt Google has actually tested it before shipping it, I'm still not sure if I'm enrolled in some kind of A/B testing since no one's really talking about this. And yes, turning it off does stop the green dot from popping up when I wake up the phone.

The official page of "safety and emergency" which doesn't include "Unknown tracker alerts" yet. https://support.google.com/android/answer/12464968?hl=en

The page talks about "Unknown tracker alerts" which does say the feature is under "safety and emergency". https://support.google.com/android/answer/13658562?hl=en

Conclusion: This is the most frustrating issue I have ever had with any smartphone ever and there is absolutely no way an average user(non-technical) would find the solution. Google really needs to up its game and make its phones and software reliable for normal people in order to compete with giants like Samsung and Apple.

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[–] limerod@reddthat.com 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm also on android 13, samsung smartphone. The play services version is 23.33.16. In the unknown tracker settings, it says last scanned 2 hours ago. What does it say in yours? Also, I had location and bluetooth enabled between that time. Have locked/unlocked my smartphone multiple times. I have yet to see that green dot. I guess it's a bug with play services for your smartphone.

[–] imrichyouknow@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It is very likely Samsung has whitelisted Play Service from showing the green dot, my Pixel certainly does not, although it probably should and a bug might have the made the whitelist invalid.

[–] limerod@reddthat.com 1 points 1 year ago

Even if whitelisted. Play services will still show in scan history, enable 'show system' apps to see all. You also have nearby device scanning and nearby share features, which could affect it.