By Alexa Morgenroth on September 27, 2018
Apple added plenty of security measures to your iPhone to protect you and your device from unwanted access. In iOS 12 there are several changes to help keep your device even more secure and private and to ensure the safety of your data. Even with these improvements, your iPhone’s overall security largely depends on you. You get to choose the security measures you implement and how much data you wish to share with Apple and other parties.
What are the newest Location Privacy Settings in iOS 12 that you should check?
Disable and Clear Significant Locations
Significant locations is a settings that lets Apple record a list of your most frequently visited locations. Although this can optimize the apps that rely on location services, the improvements will improvements might be outweighed by privacy concerns overall.
To disable this feature and not let Apple know about locations you frequently visit, go to Settings → Privacy → Location Services → System Services → Significant Locations → the disable it. From there you also have the added option of clearing the history that your iPhone may have stored overtime.
Turn off Location Based Alerts, Apple Ads and Suggests
When Enabled, “Location Based Alerts, Apple ads, and Suggestions” all track your location to provide targets notifications, advertisements, and options. These settings are definitely not the most privacy centered features in iOS 12.
To disable these features and stop allowing Apple target you wherever you go, op Settings → Privacy → System Services → then deactivate Location Based Alerts, Location Based Ads, and Location Based Suggestions, by turn their toggles to off.
Disable Share my Location
Share My Location” lets you send your current whereabouts to friends who request it. While you need to mutually agree to this arrangement with another person using the Find My Friends app, there are ways of tracking your iPhone without your permission. To avoid that risk, simply disable the option.
To disable this feature go to Settings → Privacy → Location Services → Share my Location→ then toggle to off to disable. In addition, please note that you can also change the settings of which device you have sharing your location.
Turn Off Location Services for Apps
Location Services enables GPS tracking to tag your location and give you directions accurately, they are also essential for some Navigation apps to work. In addition, apps like Snapchat can use your position when taking photos to apply exciting and unique filters that are only available where you currently are. Some apps, however, may not be as forthcoming about how they use your location data.
To check the Status of your Location Settings go to Settings → Privacy → Location Services. While you have the option to disable location services entirely, this will cause you to lose access to all location functions. Instead, it is recommended that you go through each app and make sure to set the apps you don’t want to have access to your location to “Never.”
Stop showing Parked Location
If you connect your iPhone to your car through Bluetooth or CarPlay, your iPhone has the ability to record the location of where you Park. If you feel like sharing your Parked location is an invasion of privacy and a risk to your personal security you can disable it.
To disable go to Settings → Maps → then toggle next to Show Parked Locations to turn the feature off.
There are a lot more Privacy and Security Settings Apple rolled out with iOS 12. What areas of Privacy are you most concerned with? Tell us on our facebook page