I think this video is nice for people that are way over their head with “tech stuff”, as it explains some basic settings that can improve your privacy and security in a few easy taps, and it’s easy to follow. This is why I decided to post it here, in the hope that it will be useful to some of you.
Recap: Turn off…
- Annoying Review Popups
Settings > iTunes & App Store > In-App Ratings & ReviewDisable the setting. - Analytics
Settings > Privacy > Analytics >Disable all settings. - Unneeded Location Services
Settings > Privacy > Location Services >Go through the apps and revoke location access that’s not needed, or switch from “Always” to “While using the App” where it makes sense. - Unneeded System Services
Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services >Disable everything except “Emergency Calls & SOS”, “Find my iPhone” and “Share My Location” (if used). - Significant Locations (formerly Frequent Locations), tracking
Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services > Significant Locations >Clear the history and disable the setting. - Product Improvement (hidden analytics settings)
Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services >Scroll down and disable all analytics at the bottom. - Unneeded Background App Refresh (consumes data)
Settings > General > Background App Refresh >Change Background App Refresh to “Wi-Fi” if you don’t have an unlimited cellular plan, and also disable Background App Refresh for all the apps that really need it (scroll through the list). - Change mail setting from push to fetch
I think this one can be skipped… But you can find it in the accounts settings. - Check which Apps have access to camera, microphone and other sensitive data
Settings > Privacy >Go through the different permissions and revoke any permissions that don’t make sense. - Third-party keyboards with “Full Access”
ℹ If you installed third-party keyboards in the past for the swipe functionality, they’re not needed anymore as Apple finally includes this in their keyboard, plus, third-party keyboards pose a security risk and it’s recommended to revoke full access and perhaps even uninstall the keyboard.Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards >Tap on any third-party keyboard and disable “Allow Full Access”.
These are good suggestions! But it might be helpful to less informed readers to give a short explanation for recommendations like “revoke any permissions that don’t make sense.” How do they determine what does or doesn’t make sense?
What I meant were things that don’t seem right, like a file browser asking for access to your microphone whereas a recording app would make sense to ask for microphone access. If there’s “no obvious purpose” then maybe it “doesn’t make sense”. 🙂