Skip to main content
Creamy banana nice cream in a bowl with toppings.
Jennifer Lopez at 2025 American Music Awards in stylish outfit.
Emma Stone at Annual Actor Awards looking unrecognizable amid rumors.

Homepage

4 Settings Apple Employees Say Make Your iPhone Run Slowly—You Should Change Now!

June 3, 2025 by Lisa Cupido
shefinds | Homepage
Featured image

You may not think your iPhone settings are there to do anything but add convenience to your phone (and your life). And, while that’s true for the most part, it’s also true that some of those same settings that make things run more smoothly are also weighing on your battery power and causing your phone to lag.

Think about it: any setting that is sending you notifications every time an app updates with a new message or post is using up your phone’s resources to do that, even if you aren’t touching the phone or on that app at the time. With every new convenience a setting delivers your way, you’re often going to pay for it with a slower phone. These four settings can make your iPhone run slowly — changing them can help.

house unit img
Women Are Swapping Their Boring Water For This Ice Pop Electrolyte Mix!
background-app-refresh

1. Background App Refresh

 


Background App Refresh is a complete app of convenience that works by consistently updating your apps so that your content is always fresh and updated. Never having to wait for new content to launch is a nice-to-have phone feature, but if the benefit doesn’t outweigh the negative of lower battery power and a slower device, you can turn off the settings. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and disable it.

iphone-locations-services

2. Location Services

 


Apps use location services to track your location via GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, or other methods. Different apps have reasons for tracking your location, and not all are doing this in order to sell your data to third parties. Apps like Maps and Weather need this data to do their jobs. But you can be more selective about the apps that access your location by going to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. Choose from the options: Never, Ask Next Time or When I Share, While Using the App, or Always.

iphone-push-notifications

3. Push Notifications

 


Push notifications are messages sent by apps to your device, even when the app isn't open. They can include alerts, sounds, banners, or badges, and are used for things like social media updates. Turn off Push Notifications by going to Settings > Notifications > toggle Notifications off.

iphone-visual-effects

4. Visual Effects

 


Visual Effects include parallax effect, zoom animations, and message effects like balloons and confetti. They make your phone experience more fun and festive, but at the expense of your phone’s battery and speed. You can reduce motion by heading to Settings > Accessibility > Motion > Reduce Motion.

Author:

Lisa Fogarty is a lifestyle writer and reporter based in New York who covers health, wellness, relationships, sex, beauty, and parenting.

Image from SHEfinds
Image from SHEfinds
Image from SHEfinds
Image from SHEfinds
Kylie Jenner at the 2025 Met Gala showcasing elegant black tailoring.
Image from SHEfinds
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce together at a public event.
Image from SHEfinds
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner attending a formal gathering.
Bad Bunny performing at the Grammy Awards ceremony.
Image from SHEfinds
Image from SHEfinds
Image from SHEfinds
Angelina Jolie receiving the Trophee Chopard Award at a gala.
Selena Gomez at the 3rd Annual Rare Impact Fund Benefit event.
Image from SHEfinds
Brad Pitt with Ines de Ramon at the F1 World Premiere.
Queen Camilla with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at a royal event.
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift spotted together at an event.
Barack and Michelle Obama with daughters Malia and Sasha.
Image from SHEfinds
Image from SHEfinds
Image from SHEfinds

Beauty

Prime Day is basically a holiday for anyone who's ...

Image from SHEfinds
Kylie Jenner at the 2025 Met Gala showcasing elegant black tailoring.
Image from SHEfinds
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce together at a public event.
Image from SHEfinds
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner attending a formal gathering.
Bad Bunny performing at the Grammy Awards ceremony.
Image from SHEfinds
Image from SHEfinds
Image from SHEfinds
Angelina Jolie receiving the Trophee Chopard Award at a gala.
Selena Gomez at the 3rd Annual Rare Impact Fund Benefit event.
Image from SHEfinds
Brad Pitt with Ines de Ramon at the F1 World Premiere.
Queen Camilla with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at a royal event.
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift spotted together at an event.
Barack and Michelle Obama with daughters Malia and Sasha.