LanguageTool for Desktop is using an excessive amount of battery/energy because I'm blocking analytics

I’ve noticed that the desktop tool has been using an excessive amount of energy/battery. I checked the Console logs you can see the errors flooding in reporting it’s unable to connect to a remote host. I use a pi-hole to block, among other things, stuff like analytics, as I pay for this service, I have zero desire to share any data. But the problem is, your app doesn’t seem to like that I do that.

As soon as I white-listed analytics.languagetoolplus.com, the errors stopped and the energy usage dropped to damn near 0. Once I blocked it again, it shot right back up.



Guys, I pay for your service, I LOVE your service, but my data should be controlled by me and I choose what to share. At least make a toggle in the app to share or not. Because I don’t want to share, your app is killing my battery.

2 Likes

I will let the dev team know about this… but you’re hopefully aware that LT is a remote service that checks your text on the LT servers? It doesn’t seem to make much sense to block anonymous analytics data (which we need to improve the app) while your text is sent anyway.

1 Like

It doesn’t seem to make much sense to block anonymous analytics data (which we need to improve the app) while your text is sent anyway.

So, your take is, “Since you send everything to us anyway, why not just send analytics too?”.

I’m aware that the service operates by sending data to LT servers for processing, there is a distinction between sending text for the functionality of the service and sending additional analytics data. When I send my text to your servers, it is with the specific purpose of utilizing the service’s core functions. However, the analytics data—while used for improving the service—goes beyond what is strictly necessary for functionality.

I believe that users should have the choice to opt out of sending this additional data, especially when the service is paid for. Providing an option to opt out respects user preferences and privacy, without significantly impacting the functionality of the service. This would not only align with best practices for data privacy but also enhance trust among users who are particularly sensitive about how their data is managed and utilized.

If you want to keep attempting to send analyics, that’s fine, but please don’t let your application impact the customer by chewing through the battery.

6 Likes

@dnaber Has there been any discussion about this issue?

@Christian

@dnaber @Christian

Seriously, nothing? You have to admit this is ridiculous, right? This is usage in the last 12 hours.

@dnaber @Christian Guys… seriously, say something, do something.

Hey,

Please excuse the delayed reply and any inconvenience caused. I have been running the app with the mentioned domain blocked but have not observed the same behavior as you.

  1. Does this high-energy impact also result in short-term increased CPU usage and slowdowns of the app and the machine in general?
  2. What version of the app are you currently running?
  3. Are there any other system modifications on your side that might affect the app’s performance?

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Best regards,
Christian

@Christian

Edit: By the way, this issue is happening on three different laptops and after a fresh reinstallation on my main laptop, it’s still happening. As soon as I turn off the block, it instantly jumps down to minimal energy usage and the errors in the logs stop.

Does this high-energy impact also result in short-term increased CPU usage and slowdowns of the app and the machine in general?

Yes, CPU spikes and causes slowness. It’s not always short-term, it will stay spiked for a good bit. But this is a M1 Max Macbook, so even with the spike it’s still pretty responsive.

What version of the app are you currently running?

1.8.0

Are there any other system modifications on your side that might affect the app’s performance?

No. There is no application on my system blocking analvtics.languagetoolplus.com. The blocking is happening on my pi-hole which is acting as my DNS server. Today alone there were over, 3101 blocked requests to analvtics.languagetoolplus.com

Firefox Nightly 2024-07-17 23.38.45

@Christian

I’m sitting here using Firefox to stream a YT video, while on battery, and LanguageTool for Desktop is using magnitudes of more energy than Firefox is.

@Christian Because, for some reason, I’m still a “new user” I have to make a new comment for this second screenshot.

@Christian

Check this out. I opened the Console to get error logs from LanguageTool for Desktop. I started a live tail at 09:36:13 and stopped it at 09:36:33, that’s just 20 seconds. There are 6,137 error events from LanguageTool for Desktop. I would attach that .log file but for some reason you don’t allow .log files and when I try to zip it up I get “Sorry, new users can not upload attachments.” :face_exhaling:

1 Like

You are not alone. I’ve been a committed subscriber for over three years. However, following the necessity of a hard reboot last night due to ongoing issues, I have decided to terminate my subscription.

It is unfortunate to observe the continuous degradation of the application’s performance, coupled with subpar email support.

My best wishes for future success, and I hold open the possibility of rejoining should there be significant improvements in both the application and support.

For now, I intend to utilize a local LLM to fulfil this need.

The poor communication is what I don’t understand. I’m a paying customer, have been for years. Why can’t @Christian or @dnaber communicate with me? Just put a freaking toggle in to share telemetry data or not.

1 Like

Hey, I understand your frustration. I genuinely do. We are making every effort to review and order the feedback we receive, I can promise you of that. All I can say for now is that we’re investigating and expect to present a solution shortly. Once we’ve resolved the issue, I’ll get in touch.

1 Like

@Christian Please, any update? I gave you my personal email in the DM you sent. I sent you a follow-up email on Monday.

I’m glad I’m not the only one with this issue. I reported the with high CPU usage several months ago. The suggestion at that time was to downgrade to the previous version. I’m blocking analytics via Pi-Hole.

I still have several months left of my subscription. At this point, due to the resource consumption issue, I’ve stopped to use the Desktop. I just use it occasionally. I still have a few months left on my subscription. If the issue is not fixed by the renewal day, there will be no renewal.

1 Like

@iamadam We’ve been looking into the issue. I just sent you a follow-up with instructions to potentially solve the issue for you short-term and gather information to resolve it for everybody long-term.

@TechnoDog you should have received a DM too.

Will update this thread once the general solution has been finished.

@Christian

nw_endpoint_flow_setup_channel [C2410.1.1.1 0.0.0.0:443 in_progress channel-flow (satisfied (Path is satisfied), interface: en7, ipv4, dns)] failed to request add nexus flow

Nope, still high CPU and energy usage. It looks like you’ve decided to use DoH/DoT to bypass my pi-hole, except I also block DoH/DoT because of this EXACT reason. So, maybe the analytics have stopped being one of the issues, but a second issue is still causing the same issue?

CleanShot 2024-09-16 at 09.21.40


I’ve decided to cancel my sub in November after four years. I know ultimately nobody cares that I’ve decided to cancel, but this is too much.

Firefox Nightly 2024-09-16 09.22.16

2 Likes

I’m not sure what else needs to be said.
CleanShot 2024-09-20 at 12.48.25

1 Like