Wouldn't even call it a programmer error. Someone probably just implemented a getContacts() function that gets called often in the background without saving the data in a local database or caching - and why would you do anything other than this for very marginal performance benefits, a rise in complexity, and possible data sync issues?

Another app might access your contacts rarely but store them on their server (Facebook!?). I definitely prefer the previous scenario.

> Sure - but it sounds like programmer error...

Not to snark, but how do you know this? Do you know what actions increment the "This app accessed the contacts list" counter, and how many of those actions a comparable IM/telephony app executes? :)