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Best iPhone privacy settings
The iPhone privacy switches worth a few minutes, from tracking prompts and precise location to locked apps and AirDrop. Lockdown Mode and Safety Check are here too, with a note on when you actually need them.
What is Lockdown Mode on iPhone
Lockdown Mode is an extreme setting for people who may be personally targeted by spyware. It's in Settings > Privacy & Security > Lockdown Mode and turns a lot of features off, so most people should leave it off.
Use it when: The switch is real, and turning it on without reading the list will surprise you the next time a website or a photo fails.
How to use Safety Check on iPhone
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Safety Check. Manage Sharing & Access goes through people, apps and devices one at a time. Emergency Reset stops all sharing at once.
Use it when: You can stop sharing your location and review which people and apps have access, from one place.
How to lock an app with Face ID on iPhone
Touch and hold the app icon, tap Require Face ID, then choose Lock. Pick Hide and Require Face ID instead to take it off the Home Screen.
Use it when: Someone who has the unlocked phone still cannot open that app without your face or passcode.
How to see which apps use your camera and microphone on iPhone
Turn on App Privacy Report in Settings > Privacy & Security. A day later it shows which apps used the camera, microphone and location, and which domains they contacted.
Use it when: You see the behavior of the apps you already installed, instead of guessing from their permission screens.
How to stop apps asking to track you on iPhone
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking and turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track. Every app is then told no without asking you.
Use it when: The prompt goes away, and apps do not get the advertising identifier.
How to turn off Precise Location on iPhone
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services, tap the app and turn off Precise Location. The app then only gets your rough area.
Use it when: A weather app or a shop app can work with a neighborhood instead of the building you are standing in.
How to use Hide My Email on iPhone
Go to Settings, tap your name, then iCloud > Hide My Email, and create an address. Mail sent to it forwards to your real inbox, and you can turn it off later.
Use it when: A shop gets an address that works, and you can shut that address off without changing your real one.
How to set AirDrop to Contacts Only
Go to Settings > General > AirDrop and choose Contacts Only. When you need a file from someone else, pick Everyone for 10 Minutes. It switches back by itself.
Use it when: Strangers nearby stop being able to offer you AirDrop files.
How to silence unknown callers on iPhone
Go to Settings > Apps > Phone and turn on Silence Unknown Callers. Numbers that aren't in your contacts go straight to voicemail. Contacts still ring.
Use it when: Sales calls stop ringing. So do the doctor and the delivery driver, until you save their numbers.
How to change the Auto-Lock time on iPhone
Go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock and pick a time. 30 seconds saves the most battery. Pick longer if you read on the phone.
Use it when: A phone left face-up on a table stops showing whatever was open.
Questions people ask
What stops working in Lockdown Mode?
Most message attachments and link previews, some web features, FaceTime calls from people you haven't called before, and shared albums, among others. The full list is shown before you turn it on.
Will people know I used Safety Check?
They aren't sent a notice, but they may notice they can't see your location or shared items any more.
Where do hidden apps go?
Into a Hidden folder at the bottom of the App Library. It opens with Face ID.
Is a long list of domains a bad sign?
Not by itself. A flashlight app talking to lots of ad domains is the kind of thing to look for.
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