#TechBytes: 5 critical settings to make your iPhone 'more private'

By Shubham Sharma

Jun 10, 2019

03:49 pm

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What's the story

Leading technology companies, including Google and Facebook, have built their empires on our personal data.

They sell user information and generate money as part of a business model that Apple and its CEO Tim Cook have repeatedly opposed.

However, the thing is, your data can be mined even from your iPhone - unless you enable certain privacy settings.

Let's take a look at them.

Setting #1

Disable location access

Though apps like Maps and Uber need location access, there are also plenty that may use location services without any specific need.

Now, to tackle this issue, you can head over to Settings > Privacy > Location Services and disable the toggle for the same.

Here, you could also choose which app should 'Never' get location access and which should get it 'while running'.

Setting #2

Then, disable camera permissions

Apps like Instagram and Snapchat may need camera permissions to run their built-in camera tools and let you share Stories, images et al.

But, sometimes, some apps can take camera access without any explainable reason.

So, we recommend heading over to Settings > Privacy > Camera on your iPhone, checking the apps having camera access, and disabling those that don't need it.

Setting #3

Check apps accessing iPhone's microphone

Next on the list is the microphone, which may be required by apps like WhatsApp and Google Duo.

Microphone access is generally used for programs aimed at calling and recording, but other platforms may also take the access arbitrarily.

So, go to Settings > Privacy > Microphone and disable mic access for apps that may not need it.

Setting #4

Disable targeted, interest-based ads

For enhanced privacy, we also recommend opting out of seeing targeted, interest-based ads on your iPhone, particularly in the App Store.

This can be done by heading over to Settings > Privacy and then scrolling down to 'Advertising'.

Here, toggle the 'Limit Ad Tracking' option on and tap on the 'Reset Advertising Identifier' button.

Setting #5

Finally, disable Live Photos from camera app

The Live Photos feature of iOS not just captures a particular moment but also what happens 1.5 seconds before and after it.

Basically, it is a 3-second-long video (and not a photo), something that you may not realize while having the feature on.

Now, as this could have drastic implications, disable the option from the button next to HDR in the camera app.