When you have a smartphone, like an iPhone, protecting yourself, your information, and your data becomes extremely important.
This is because our iPhones tend to become an extension of ourselves, whether we like it or not, housing some of our most precious data, from messages to emails, passwords, or essential documents. Therefore, it’s super important to do whatever you can to ensure all of these things stay safe. We spoke with tech and cybersecurity experts about three iPhone privacy settings you should adjust ASAP to keep yourself safe. 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."
3. Siri Data Collection
If you've ever worried about your iPhone 'listening' to you and invading your privacy, then you need to look into your Siri settings. When you use Siri, your device may store and send details like your voice recordings, requests, and how you interact with certain apps.
"To limit the data collected by Siri, you can go to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and turn off 'Allow Access When Locked,'" instructs Mortlock. "This prevents anyone from using Siri to access your messages or contacts when they pick up your locked phone. You can also turn off 'Improve Siri & Dictation' in Analytics settings if you want to stop Apple from storing your voice recordings."
