All the new privacy features in iOS 14

iPhone is the right investment for those who care about privacy when using the phone. With a few new privacy features and improvements to old ones, iOS 14 continues to help users feel more secure when using iPhone.

When does the application use the microphone or camera on the device?

Whenever an app uses the microphone or camera, an orange or green dot appears in the status bar at the top.

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If an app is being used that listens or tracks you, the dot will be green. The dot turning orange means an application is running in the background that uses the microphone or camera. You can swipe down from the top (or swipe up from the bottom if the device you're using has a Home button) to open Control Center to see which applications are running.

Only share approximate locations

In iOS 14, you can choose to share your exact or approximate location with apps that have access to Location Services. When the app first asks for location access, you'll see a map with your current location marked 'Precise: On' .

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Click on the marker to zoom out and include locations close to where you are currently. This helps you get all the information without sharing the exact location with the app developer. However, in some cases, it still limits some app features.

You can track which apps are allowed to know your exact address in Settings > Privacy > Location Services . Select an app and choose to turn Precise Location off or on .

Limit app access to photos

You can limit an app's access to only certain photos on iOS 14. This will prevent the app from having full access to your entire photo library, including private photo albums. You can do this when a new app asks for access to Photos by clicking Select Photos on the pop-up notification.

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For example, we only give Facebook access to certain photos. After closing the application and reopening it, iOS will ask if they want to access more photos, or keep the decision as before.

Receive notifications every time an application retrieves content from the Clipboard

By default, iOS 14 will send you notifications every time the clipboard is accessed. Many applications control the clipboard, even when they don't need to. Apple will stop some access to the clipboard one app at a time.

Notice about password not being strong enough

You will receive a notification if your password has been compromised or is easily guessed using storage tools. Go to Settings > Passwords to see a list of saved passwords. Click Security Recommendations to see current issues.

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Click on a section to see more detailed information or select Change Password on Website to change the password on a pop-up window. When you finish changing the password, the iPhone will ask to replace the old password with the one you just created.

Safari privacy notice, app tracking, Wifi

If you select the AA icon in the address bar, then select Privacy Report , you'll see a list of trackers on that website. A detailed report includes tools and websites that have attempted to track you within the past 30 days.

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By default, iOS 14 will deny all tracking requests from apps you install. However, it does not guarantee that those applications will not find other ways to bypass Apple.

If you want applications to ask for tracking permission, go to Settings > Privacy > Tracking .

iOS 14 also limits Wifi tracking by giving the iPhone a new MAC address each time it connects to the network. The MAC address is your iPhone's unique identifier, and it can be used by Internet service providers and marketers to identify and locate you.

Go to Settings > Wifi , select the 'i' icon next to a network, the Private Address option will be enabled by default.

Lesley Montoya

Update 17 October 2023