New Permissions Request From WDW App

[mgarbowski]

Tonight when I logged into the WDW App on my iPhone I got a new request to "make data available to nearby Bluetooth devices even when you're not using the app. The app may communicate with nearby Disney Bluetooth beacons to enable certain interactive or personalized experiences, and to improve the Guest experience."

Has anyone seen this, and does anyone know why this new request is being made? What, if anything, will I get out of this that I won't get by wearing a Magic Band? Will I miss out on anything if I say no? I hate letting apps do stuff when I'm not using them. This implies that it will only function in the parks, but there is no guarantee of that.

I hate letting apps track me when I'm not using them. The request implies, but does not promise, that the Bluetooth connections will only be in the Parks. Nothing here forbids the Mouse from partnering with companies that have BT devices all over the place to track me the other 51 weeks a year. My basic rule is that if you expect any entity - a company, the government , whatever - not to abuse the power to track you, then you are a fool. I wear my Magic Bands at Disney, not all year. There are BT devices all over the damn place. This is a huge, huge difference to me.

 

[AllyReggie]

Pretty sure this is for the Play App functionality in places like SWGE but I am not sure why it is worded this way.

 

[Figment Mom]

I don't know but yesterday I was standing outside Casey's Corner and I got a notification that mobile ordering was available. I think the app "thought" that I was standing in line to order.

In actuality I was placing a mobile order for the mint julip frozen lemonade.

 

[CheeseheadDave]

When you’re not in the parks, it’s also easy to go into the Privacy settings, tap on Bluetooth Sharing, and switch off MDE, just to be sure.

 

[mgarbowski]

Thanks all.

I have continued to research this and it is hard to find anything on this not written by Disney or simply rewording a press release, and the Disney info is not very helpful. It appears this was first introduced in the Disney Land app, which makes sense because of the lack of Magic Bands there. And I have seen indications it will be used to trigger things in Galaxy's Edge, but still I'm not sure why the MBs cannot handle that in WDW. Now perhaps this is meant for WDW visitors who don't have Magic Bands. But then, again, Disney should say so, so everyone else can know they do not need it.

I also found the place to toggle this on or off in the iPhone settings. It can be found at Settings->Privacy->Bluetooth Sharing. On my phone the WDW app is the only one that tries to use this feature. I might consider turning it on when we get there and reversing it when we leave. But even apart from privacy there is the battery draining issue. I carry a portable charger with me in the parks but I still don't need my phone battery being drained for something redundant if my MB can handle it very well.

 

[OKW Lover]

I don't know but yesterday I was standing outside Casey's Corner and I got a notification that mobile ordering was available. I think the app "thought" that I was standing in line to order.

In actuality I was placing a mobile order for the mint julip frozen lemonade.

I wonder if this was simply a function of the MDE app using the phone's GPS location? Or had you authorized BLE to share your info?