Imagine talking trash with your friends while someone snaps a quick photo. The potential pitfalls of Live Photos are vast. Many people have this feature enabled without realizing it, and, as a result, instead of sharing a cute photo with friends and family risk sharing something. The setting is found at the top of the camera app. In other words, your 'pictures' are actually 3 second videos. 'With Live Photos, your iPhone records what happens 1.5 seconds before and after you take a picture,' explains Apple. 'What you get is more than a great photo it's a moment captured with movement and sound.'

Live Photos tell on youĭo you use the Live Photos setting on your iPhone? Do you know what that even is? While you're there, go ahead and hit 'Reset Advertising Identifier.' Select 'Limit Ad Tracking' to toggle the feature on.

Head back to Settings > Privacy and then scroll down to Advertising. Ad trackingĭid you know the iPhone has an option to limit ad tracking? Well, it does, but you have to make sure it's turned on. Don't worry about overdoing it, either, as you can always go back and turn it on later if you determine that something like Google Maps does in fact need your mic. To disable an individual app's access to your microphone, head to Settings > Privacy > Microphone and start switching things off. If an app doesn't have a clear reason for needing access to your microphone, don't give it that access. For example, do you want Drivetime to have access to your mic? No? Because if you've downloaded it, then it might. You might be surprised, and not pleasantly so, at which apps on your phone have requested microphone access. See anything in there that doesn't make sense? Go ahead and disable it. Once again, head to Settings > Privacy > Camera and review what apps you've granted camera access. Other apps' reasoning for having access to your camera might be less clear. You want to be able to use Snapchat filters? Fine, the app needs access to your camera. For some of these, the reasoning is a no-brainer. Numerous apps on your iPhone have likely requested - and been granted - access to your camera. There are plenty of other ways for bad actors to determine your location, but there's no reason to make it easy for them. Oh, and did you know your camera is embedding your location into photos? It is. Whatever you do, don't leave any app set to 'Always' - especially if it's a weather app. In the case of something like Google Maps or Lyft, change it to 'While Using the App.' This means that the app in question won't know exactly where you are even when you're not using it. Unless it's for a service that actually needs to know where you are, like a maps app, you should individually switch every individual app setting to 'Never.' On this screen, you'll find a list of apps that either have requested or have access to your location data. More than likely, you will see that the feature is turned on. On your iPhone, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services. The invasiveness is staggering - 'accurate to within a few yards and in some cases updated more than 14,000 times a day.'Īpps requesting unfettered access to your location data, say, to tell you your location-specific weather, are some of the most obvious culprits. Location, location, locationĪs the New York Times demonstrated in December, many mobile apps are constantly collecting users' locations throughout the day and then sharing that information with numerous third-party companies. There are some small, privacy-focused steps you can take to mitigate your risk without having to go live in the woods. And, if you've been paying attention, you know that a seemingly never-ending combination of unscrupulous companies and data breaches mean that said you is perpetually on the edge of being put on permanent display.īut hey, no one is suggesting you throw your phone into the ocean and wash your hands of the entire thing. It's an unparalleled collection of things that, taken in the aggregate, make you you. These days, your iPhone (and all its accumulated data) is the window to your soul.Įverything - that's your contacts, your location, your photos, your emails, your texts, and even your bank account - can often be found on that smartphone in your pocket.

Iphone photo privacy