Owning an iPhone is such a privilege and can make life a lot easier, but there are also some risks to owning one.
These days, many of us can relate to the notion that our smartphones are like an extension of ourselves, as they house some of our most important information and data. Whether you’re using it for work or for your personal life, iPhones tend to store a lot of valuable data, from your location to essential documents. While your phone automatically has ways to protect you, there’s even more you can do in your settings. Using information from tech experts, we’ve listed two privacy settings you should adjust as soon as possible for your protection. Read more about them below.
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1. Analytics & Improvements
Did you know that your iPhone might be collecting information about your user experience and sending it back to Apple? This settings feature is designed to help Apple understand how people use their devices so they can make their software and services better. When it's turned on, your iPhone automatically collects information about things like app performance, hardware usage, and system crashes, then sends that data to Apple.
"If you care about privacy, stop sending analytics and usage data to Apple!" says cybersecurity expert Bob Gourley. "It's in the 'Analytics & Improvements' setting in your Privacy section. That little toggle looks like nothing, but it's spitting out detailed logs to Apple every day. App launches, crash reports, sensor data, plus even some location information baked into those diagnostics. You think you're sending bug reports to the mothership when, in fact, you're shipping off a behavioral profile. For free."
2. Significant Locations
"This feature quietly logs the places you visit most often, including timestamps and visit frequency, to provide location-based suggestions in apps like Maps, Photos, and Calendar," says Jorge Tijerino with JT4TECH. "While it can be convenient, it's also one of the most invasive data points stored on your device. The information is encrypted and stays on your phone, but if someone gains access to your device or backs up that data to iCloud, it creates a detailed map of your movements that could easily be exploited."
Tijerino stresses that turning off this setting won't affect your ability to use your GPS or access your current location, but it will help prevent your device from collecting a long-term record of your most frequently visited places and is a great thing for preventing "unwanted tracking."
