The iPhone Privacy Settings Apple Doesn’t Turn On by Default
28 Jun 2026 · 4 min read · Comments
Your iPhone ships with tracking on and privacy off. Apple doesn't advertise this. Here are the settings that actually matter — and the ones most people never find.
1. Turn Off App Tracking Requests
Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking. Turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track. This stops apps from even asking permission to follow you across other apps and websites. If you've already approved some apps, the list is right below — revoke any you don't recognise.
2. Audit Location Services
Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services. Look at each app. The default is often Always — meaning the app can check your location even when you're not using it. Change anything that doesn't genuinely need it to While Using or Never.
Apps that commonly over-request location: weather, shopping, news, social media. None of them need Always.
3. Turn Off Apple's Personalised Ads
Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Apple Advertising. Turn off Personalised Ads. Apple uses your App Store usage, news reading, and device activity to build an ad profile. This stops it. It doesn't remove ads — it removes the profiling.
4. Stop Sharing Analytics With Apple
Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements. Turn off Share iPhone Analytics, Share iCloud Analytics, and Improve Siri & Dictation. These send usage data — including snippets of what Siri hears — to Apple's servers.
5. Fix Safari's Privacy Settings
Go to Settings → Safari. Make sure these are on:
- Prevent Cross-Site Tracking: stops advertisers from following you across websites
- Hide IP Address (set to Trackers and Websites) — routes your IP through Apple's relay
- Fraudulent Website Warning: flags known phishing sites
Even with these settings on, Safari still sends some data to Google (its default search engine). For full tracking protection, a dedicated privacy browser handles this automatically.
6. Review Microphone and Camera Permissions
Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone (and Camera). Look at every app with access. Social media apps, shopping apps, and games rarely need microphone access. If you don't know why an app has it, revoke it.
These six changes take less than ten minutes total. Most iPhones have never had a single one applied. After this, your device is still an iPhone — it just stops working as a data collection tool for everyone else.
