How To Take Control Of Your Privacy Settings
by Dom Esposito
November 27, 2012
Whether you’re new to iOS, or just want to pick up some useful tips and tricks, we're here to help. This is iOS Advice.
Privacy is one of the most important aspects of an iOS device. Not only is an iOS device for entertainment purposes, but in some cases, contains very important personal information.
Within your device’s privacy settings, certain apps are granted access to things such as your contacts, photos, and location. When you launch an app for the first time, it will ask permission to access these private areas of your device. Don’t worry, if you grant the app permission, you can always undo this from within the Settings app.
If you’d like to take control of your device’s privacy settings, watch the video or follow the steps below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3Ho4YoXjC0
Step 1: Go into the Settings app on your device and tap on Privacy.
Step 2: Next, you’ll be presented with a list of categories pertaining to private areas on your device. The categories listed on the Privacy screen are Location Services, Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Photos, Bluetooth Sharing, Twitter, and Facebook.
Step 3: Tap on a row in the list to enable or disable the ability for specific apps to access that area of your device. If you tap on “Location Services,” every app enabled in this list will be able to access your location. To revoke an app’s permissions, use the toggle switch to the right of it.
This method applies to every category within the privacy settings on your iOS device. You have the ability to change these permissions at any time. Alternatively, you can delete any app to automatically revoke it’s privacy permissions.
Disabling an app’s ability to access your location is also a great way to save your device’s battery life. Apps with Location Services enabled can definitely drain your battery when they are in use. Check out the video above for a detail overview of this process.
Now that you’ve learned how to take control of your privacy settings, if there’s something else you’d like to see on iOS Advice, please let us know. Send us an email with your question or comment and we might feature your suggestion in a future article. If you need a little more advice, check out our other helpful tutorials.