9 Essential iPhone Settings To Turn Off For Data Privacy & Extended Battery Life
1. 9 Essential iPhone Settings: Turn Off Unnecessary System Services
Many users are unaware that their devices are often tracking their habits and locations, leading to unnecessary battery drain and privacy concerns. This article will delve into practical steps to mitigate these issues.
Discover the 9 Essential iPhone Settings that can significantly enhance your privacy and battery life.
In today’s digital age, privacy and battery optimization have become essential for enhancing user experience. This guide will provide detailed insights into how you can adjust your iPhone settings for better control over your personal data and improved battery life.
To start, navigate to Settings > Privacy > Location Services. At the bottom, you will find System Services. By turning off unnecessary services, you can prevent your iPhone from using location data when it is not essential. This helps conserve battery life and maintain your privacy.
- Emergency Calls and SOS
- Find My iPhone
Additionally, you can clear your recently recorded locations. This not only enhances your privacy but also ensures that your location data is not stored unnecessarily.
Let’s explore the option to turn off Significant Locations. This setting can track where you frequently visit, which can be useful for navigation but at the cost of your privacy. By disabling it, you prevent your iPhone from collecting this data.
Enter the Significant Locations option and turn it off. You can clear your recent locations here while you’re at it.
3. Turn Off Unnecessary Location Services
This can drastically reduce the amount of battery consumed by apps running background location tracking.
Turning off Personalized Ads can also be beneficial. This feature tracks your preferences to deliver targeted advertising. By disabling it, you reduce the amount of personal data shared with advertisers, preserving your privacy.
Next, scrutinize the list of apps that have access to your location. Change any app permissions from ‘Always’ to ‘While Using the App’ or ‘Never’ if constant access isn’t required. For instance, social media apps often do not need location access when you’re not actively using them.
Apple collects data on how you use their devices to improve services. However, if you’re uncomfortable with this, disable Analytics and Improvements to lessen data collection.
4. Turn Off Personalized Ads
At the bottom of the same list (way at the bottom) select personalized ads and turn them off. Unless Apple is paying you for this, it’s completely unnecessary.
5. Turn Off Analytics & Improvements
This setting is particularly important for users concerned about their data privacy and can prevent unwanted tracking.
Just above the Personalized ads, you’ll see ‘Analytics and Improvements’. These can all be disabled.
6. Turns Off Allow Apps To Request to Track
This small adjustment can lead to a more streamlined user experience without frequent interruptions.
Another crucial setting is Allow Apps to Request to Track. By enabling this option, you give apps permission to track your activity across other apps and websites. Disabling it helps protect your data from being misused.
Consider which apps are essential for you and tailor this setting accordingly. For example, keep it enabled for messaging apps but disable it for those you don’t use frequently.
Finally, Background App Refresh allows apps to update their content while in the background. Disabling this for apps that don’t require constant updates, like games or photo editors, can conserve battery and improve overall performance.
7. Turn Off In-App Rating & Reviews
For heavy email users, consider adjusting this frequency even further based on your preferences and needs. Less frequent checks can lead to extended battery life.
Turning Off In-App Ratings & Reviews can also contribute to your privacy. When enabled, apps will prompt you to rate them, which can sometimes lead to unwanted data collection. Disabling this setting can enhance your control over what information is shared.
8. Turn Off Push Mail
Go back one menu and select Mail then Accounts (this will only show up if the built-in mail app is installed)
Push Mail can significantly impact battery life. By adjusting your Mail settings to ‘Fetch New Data’ every 15 minutes rather than constantly, you can save battery. This setting is crucial for users who rely on email communication but want to minimize battery usage.
9. Turn Off App Refresh
Back in the main menu, scroll up to general and select it. In there, select ‘Background app refresh’. This allows you to select apps you wouldn’t like updating endlessly in the background. Apps like News or Uber would be good to keep on if you want updates but things like games, video/photo editors etc don’t need this on.
