Are your apps spying on you? Check your phone’s privacy report
There’s an easy-to-miss tool built right into your phone that shows you which apps access your microphone, camera, location data and everything else.
Don’t like what you see? Adjust the app’s permissions (I’ll show you how) or delete the app entirely. Let’s take a close look at Apple’s iPhone Privacy Report and the Android Privacy Dashboard.
Privacy, please
In the Apple-sphere? Your iPhone’s Privacy Report shows the network and web activity of each app on your smartphone. It looks at how often an app has accessed your phone’s sensors, camera and microphone, along with where it sends all your data back to.
You have to turn it on and let it gather data before you’ll see any of these insights. If you turn off the Privacy Report, it’ll clear out everything.
- Go to Settings > Privacy & Security.
- Turn on App Privacy Report.
Make sure your iPhone is running iOS 15.2 or later. If not, go to Settings > General > Software Update.
After about a week, hop in and see what the Privacy Report has collected:
- Open Settings > Privacy & Security > App Privacy Report.
Here, you’ll see all the apps that gather your data. Tap an app’s name for more info. If you spot one that’s way too nosy:
- Go to Settings > Privacy & Security.
- Tap on an individual permission, like Health or Camera. To revoke an app’s access, toggle off the switch.
Use an Android?
Android’s Privacy Dashboard is your one-stop shop for managing permissions. It’s not quite as detailed as what you’ll see on an iPhone, but it gets the job done.
- Go to Settings > Security and Privacy (or Privacy) > Privacy Dashboard. Pick a permission to see which apps have access and turn off anything you’re not cool with.
If you’re running Android 12, you’ll see your app activity over the last 24 hours. For Android 13 or later, you’ll see seven days of app activity. (Pro tip: Check your OS version under Settings > About phone > Android version.)
🔗 See? Taking back some privacy isn’t all that complicated! Now, be a pal and share this privacy tip with others by using the links below.
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Tags: Android, Apple App Privacy Report, Apple iPhone, apps, privacy
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