10 Best IPhone Privacy Tips Everyone Should Know

When you use devices that are constantly connected to the internet, it’s difficult to completely protect your privacy . Fortunately, there are many excellent privacy protection options for your iPhone that can make it more difficult for trackers and spies to collect your data and track you. From built-in solutions like adjusting app permissions to purchasing screen protectors, here are 10 ways every iPhone user should consider protecting their privacy.

Purchase a screen protector to ensure privacy.

No privacy software will protect you from someone looking over your shoulder to remember your password or from peeking at your activity. However, a screen protector can protect you. I learned this firsthand: recently, one of my friends tried to show me something on her iPhone, and I realized I couldn’t see anything until her phone was right in front of me.

These screen protectors can make using your phone in public easier, without worrying about who’s looking at your screen. However, there are a few potential downsides. These screen protectors are quite plasticky and don’t feel as nice to the touch as your iPhone’s touchscreen. They also reduce screen brightness. This doesn’t bother me, but it could be an issue in bright light. If you can live with these downsides, this is an inexpensive privacy protection option that’s definitely worth considering.

If possible, try to prevent Apple from collecting your data.

Apple is known for its privacy policies, but its commitment seems to be weakening somewhat in recent years. The company aggressively injects advertising into its apps and notifications, and persistently encourages iPhone users to subscribe to Apple services. Blocking advertising directly from the company is nearly impossible, but it’s worth changing a few settings to limit Apple’s own ads . This also includes reducing Apple’s data collection. Many of these options are available in Settings > Privacy & Security on your iPhone. From this page, you can navigate to the following sections to disable significant tracking:

• Analytics and improvements

• Apple advertising

• Location Services > System Services

Carefully reviewing all the options on these pages and disabling unnecessary features will significantly limit Apple’s data collection.

Whenever possible, deny (or restrict) app permissions.

I used to allow all permissions requested by apps upon first launch. Over time, I realized this resulted in a lot of notification spam, unnecessary data collection, and significant battery drain if the app was tracking my location. So I developed a new strategy: deny all permissions unless the app absolutely needs them . In general, I almost always deny notifications, access to contacts, location, camera, microphone, and photos.

In newer versions of iOS, you can share only a few contacts or photos, and you can limit GPS access to approximate locations instead of precise ones. All these features are available in Settings > Privacy & Security if you missed them when setting up the app.

Consider removing apps that are known to track your activity.

While the App Tracking Transparency feature on your iPhone does reduce data collection by many apps, it’s far from a guarantee of complete protection. In general, apps have access to much more data than their web counterparts, so whenever possible, try to switch from apps to mobile websites. If you delete apps like Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok and switch to logging in through Safari, you’ll transfer much less data, and some of the data you would otherwise transfer to web apps will be blocked or deleted by Safari’s privacy features , further protecting your data. As an added bonus, since web apps tend to be less user-friendly than dedicated apps, you’ll also be much less likely to fall into the trap of endless scrolling. I’ve used this quite effectively with social media apps, but apps like WhatsApp can’t always be deleted.

Install an ad blocker (or use a more secure DNS).

Installing an ad blocker and DNS app can significantly improve your iPhone’s privacy. Ad blockers like uBlock Origin are quite effective at blocking intrusive tracking on your iPhone, but their effectiveness is limited to Safari. To improve the privacy of your internet traffic, consider installing an encrypted DNS app like NextDNS , AdGuard DNS , or ControlD . All of these block ads and trackers in most apps on your iPhone and protect you from certain types of online security threats.

Security check is mandatory.

Everyone should use the Security Checkup feature on their iPhone . This feature instantly identifies who you’re sharing data with, including passwords, activity data, your current location, calendars, notes, and more. To check, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Security Checkup > Manage Access & Sharing . You can follow step-by-step instructions to check app permissions and add an emergency contact, ensuring the safety of your data (and yourself). While you can access all of these options manually in the Settings app, Security Checkup lets you find all the features without having to sift through multiple pages, saving you a lot of time.

A password manager is a great tool for maintaining privacy.

A good password manager is also essential. Free password managers, such as the built-in Passwords app or BitWarden, allow you to create unique, strong passwords for each website, significantly reducing the likelihood of your accounts being hacked. You can also use these apps to store two-factor authentication codes to add an extra layer of security to your accounts .

What’s more, these apps can manage passwords to help you log into your online accounts. Passwords eliminate the need to remember passwords and are much more resistant to phishing attacks that could compromise your accounts. For more information on passwords , check out our full guide here .

Encrypt your data backups responsibly.

You should seriously consider enabling encryption for your data backups. This includes iCloud backups and backups of your messaging apps, such as Telegram or WhatsApp . Encryption significantly reduces the chances of someone else reading your iPhone data, as it’s completely encrypted without the key—in this case, your password or PIN. However, this is where the danger lies. If you forget your backup password, even you won’t be able to access it to restore the data if necessary. Therefore, use a password manager to store these passwords so you never forget them.

Removing identifying information from social media photos

This isn’t so much an iPhone privacy tip as a general life hack, but it’s worth mentioning. These days, trackers and hackers effectively use social media posts, photos, and videos to build your profile. While there are many steps you can take to limit the amount of data you share on social media, you may not know that you can remove identifying data from photos you post online . EXIF ​​data includes a wealth of statistics about the equipment that took the photo, including your camera’s make and model, shutter speed, focal length, and, perhaps most importantly, location. However, you don’t have to avoid posting photos to protect this data: simply remove the EXIF ​​data before posting .

Blocking mode will protect you from extreme attacks.

Most people will never need to use Block Mode , as it’s designed to protect your data from government surveillance or spying. However, it’s still worth knowing about in case of a cyberattack or if you suspect your iPhone is infected with spyware. Block Mode disables message attachments, links and link previews, most incoming FaceTime calls, many Apple services, some web technologies and fonts in Safari, and many other features.

Again, most people don’t need this level of extreme protection, but if you ever do, you can go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Lockdown Mode and turn it on.

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