The One iPhone Setting Users Should Turn Off
iPhone settings are so fast and customizable that it can be really hard to keep track of what you should have turned on and off. However, it's a good idea to keep an eye on them and pay attention to settings that handle important features on your phone, like your location, your passwords, etc.
While you've likely heard of Location Services in your settings, and how you should keep track of it, what apps you give permission to, and more, there's a location setting you might not have heard of or don't know much about. Paul Pioselli suggests diving a little deeper into them, so you can disable 'Significant Locations.'
"This feature silently logs the places you visit most, creating a detailed and intimate roadmap of your life," he explains. "While Apple encrypts this data, the primary risk isn't necessarily a hack on their servers; it's someone gaining physical access to your unlocked phone. In the wrong hands, this log may reveal your home, office, doctor's office, and children's school. I once advised a client, a high-profile executive, whose ex-partner exploited this exact feature to stalk her during a contentious divorce. Disabling it is a simple, powerful step to reclaim your physical and digital privacy from various tracking mechanisms, traditional and nuanced."
How To Disable' Significant Locations' On Your iPhone
If you've never seen the 'Significant Locations' setting or aren't sure how to find it, disabling it is actually quite simple.
First, you open the Settings app, tap on Privacy & Security, enter Location Services, then tap on System Services, where you'll be able to find Significant Locations, and toggle it off. If you're still worried about giving your phone access to your location for various apps and features, there is a safer way to go about it.
"If you must use Location Services, I recommend you adjust the setting called 'Precise Location,'" notes Paul. "When an app asks for your location, it's not an all-or-nothing choice. You can grant it permission to see your general area without giving it your exact location. This matters because many apps may have your location, such as weather, news, shopping, social media, etc. They don't need to know your home address or geolocation. Furthermore, each one of these apps is a potential source of a data leak. Minimizing that data's precision is another powerful protective measure."
To access Precise Location, go to Settings, then Privacy & Security, and tap on Location Services. Click on an individual app, and you will see a toggle for Precise Location.
"For any app that isn't a navigation service, like Maps, Waze, or Uber, I strongly recommend turning this off," adds Paul.