What is it?
The EA app Background Service (EABackgroundService.exe) is, first and foremost, a DRM component for EA Play subscription users.
EA claims that it plays an important role in enhancing our gaming experience, but actually it doesn't do anything like that.
You want to know how I can claim that?
It's really simple -- Steam doesn't need or use such a background service, and my Steam gaming experience is vastly superior to my EA gaming experience.
EA claims that it mainly serves to install and update games, and to keep the EA app itself up-to-date, but I say that there are other ways to do both tasks which don't require a background service with privileges higher than Administrator.
Why is it on by default?
EA claims that when you’re not using the EA app or a partner app, the background service stays on with minimal impact on your computer’s performance.
Every software vendor who makes a background service makes the same claim and we the users don't care. It's the proliferation of background services which we are against on principle. You get 2 for Chrome, 3 for Microsoft Edge, 1 for EA, 1 or more for Adobe, 1 for EPIC, ... individually they might not have a great impact, but cumulatively it's "death by a thousand paper cuts".
The worst part of having background services is their high privileges which change the whole computer security posture -- having unneccessary background services running INCREASES THE ATTACK SURFACE FOR MALWARE.
EA claims it occasionally checks whether there are game or EA app updates that can be installed. I say this check can be done on application launch and the player asked whether and when they want to download and install any updates.
Why is it helpful?
EA claims that keeping the Background Service on lets you quickly get in the game, whenever you’re ready to play.
You know what else would also let us quickly get in the game? Not having to deal with so many different launchers from different publishers.
So how about making a minimal game launcher which advanced users could download for singleplayer games instead of EA App and which only asks for your account credentials once to authenticate the game and then runs the game without the background service, user interface, and any other bloat?
If you ask me, the best thing would be if Steam, EPIC, Ubisoft, EA, etc, all sat down and made an industry standard API so that each client launcher / store app can query the others whether the user has the right to download and launch a specific game. That way each user could use the single launcher and store of their choice and have all their games shown in one place.
Sadly, that won't happen because then they would have to compete by adding actual features people ask for into those launchers and stores, instead of just imposing their will on captive audience who they lured in by making exclusive deals not available on other stores.
