How to Protect Your Privacy on iPhone: Settings to Change Now

If you want to know how to protect your privacy on iPhone without combing through every screen in Settings, start with the handful of switches that matter most. They control who can see your location, which apps can follow you across other apps, what Apple uses to target ads, and how much a thief can do with your phone. Plan on about 20 minutes the first time. Every menu path below comes from Apple's current support pages, though labels can shift slightly between iOS versions.

Before you start your iPhone privacy checkup

• Install the latest iOS update. Safety Check needs iOS 16 or later, and Stolen Device Protection needs iOS 17.3 or later.
• Have your passcode and Apple Account password ready.
• Make sure two-factor authentication is on for your Apple Account. Safety Check and Stolen Device Protection both depend on it.
• Pick a calm moment. Some changes, like ending location sharing, are noticed by the people you were sharing with.

Stage 1: Review who can see your data with Safety Check

Safety Check is the fastest way to see everything you share in one place, and it is the right first stop if a relationship has ended or you suspect someone has access they should not.

1. Open Settings and go to Privacy & Security > Safety Check. You may need to scroll down to find it.
2. Tap Manage Sharing & Access to go through things one at a time. Use the People, Information and Apps tabs to see what you share and stop anything you no longer want.
3. Tap Continue to review the devices signed in to your Apple Account, the phone numbers used to verify your identity, your password and your emergency contacts.
4. Tap Done when you finish.

If you need to cut everyone off at once, choose Emergency Reset instead. According to the Apple Personal Safety guide, it stops sharing with all people and apps, walks you through your devices and emergency contacts, and lets you change your Apple Account password. The Quick Exit button in the top right corner closes Settings instantly and keeps any changes you already made.

One limit to keep in mind: Safety Check cannot change sharing inside non Apple accounts or social media apps. Those need their own review, which our social media privacy checkup covers.

Stage 2: Stop apps from tracking you across other apps

Since iOS 14.5, apps have to ask before they track your activity across other companies' apps and websites. You can review those answers and change them.

1. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking.
2. Look at the list of apps that asked. Turn off any app you allowed in the past and no longer trust.
3. If you would rather not decide app by app, turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track.
4. When a new app shows the prompt, tap Ask App Not to Track.

Apple's tracking support page notes that the request toggle may be unavailable on accounts belonging to someone under 18, accounts managed by a school or business, devices with a profile that limits tracking, and Apple Accounts created in the last three days.

It also pays to check before you install. Each App Store listing has privacy labels, including sections called Data Used to Track You and Data Linked to You. A flashlight app with a long tracking list is a good one to skip.

Stage 3: Limit what your location gives away

Location is the most personal data on the phone, and many apps ask for it out of habit rather than need.

1. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services.
2. Tap each app in the list. Set anything that does not need your location, such as a shopping or game app, to Never.
3. When an app asks for your location and you only need it for that moment, pick Allow Once (an option since iOS 13).
4. Scroll to the bottom and open System Services (Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > System Services) to see which iPhone features use your location.

Avoid switching off Location Services completely if you rely on Find My. Stolen Device Protection, covered below, also needs Significant Locations turned on so your iPhone knows which places are familiar.

Stage 4: Cut back ad targeting and hide your real email

Apple runs ads in the App Store, Apple News and Stocks. To stop those ads from being personalized:

1. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Apple Advertising.
2. Turn off Personalized Ads.

Apple's advertising page adds a separate step for location based ads: in Location Services, open App Store or News and set Allow Location Access to Never.

If you pay for iCloud+, Hide My Email creates random addresses that forward to your real inbox, which is handy for store sign ups and newsletters. Find it under Settings, tap your name, tap iCloud, then tap Hide My Email in the iCloud+ Features section. Addresses created through Sign in with Apple are listed under your name, then Sign in with Apple. iCloud+ also includes iCloud Private Relay, which helps hide your browsing in Safari, though Apple says it is not available in every country or region.

Stage 5: Protect your accounts if your iPhone is stolen

A thief who watched you type your passcode can do a lot of damage. Stolen Device Protection adds a Face ID or Touch ID check, plus a waiting period, when your phone is away from familiar places.

1. Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode and enter your passcode.
2. Tap Stolen Device Protection and turn it on.
3. For the strongest setting, choose Always under Require Security Delay, so the delay applies even at home.

Per Apple's Stolen Device Protection page, sensitive actions such as changing your Apple Account password or passcode, using Reset All Settings, or turning the feature off then require a one hour security delay. Saved passwords, passkeys and AutoFill payment cards need Face ID or Touch ID with no passcode fallback. Keeping your logins in a proper vault helps too; see do you need a password manager.

When an iPhone privacy setting will not change

• Allow Apps to Request to Track is grayed out. Check the restrictions in Stage 2. A school or work profile, a child account, or a brand new Apple Account can each block it.
• Stolen Device Protection is missing or will not turn on. Confirm you are on iOS 17.3 or later and that two-factor authentication, a passcode, Face ID or Touch ID, Find My and Significant Locations are all on.
• You want a clean slate. Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone, tap Reset, then tap Reset Location & Privacy. Apps then have to ask for permission again, so you can grant only what makes sense.
• Odd pop ups or apps you do not remember installing. That is a different problem from settings. Our guide on how to remove a virus from iPhone explains how to spot fake alerts and clean things up.
• You often use public Wi-Fi. Settings cannot fully protect traffic on an untrusted network. Read do I need a VPN to decide whether one is worth it.

Privacy settings drift as you install apps and share things with new people, so put a reminder in your calendar to run Safety Check and the Tracking list again every few months. For habits that go beyond the phone, our online privacy checklist and the rest of our tech guides are good next reads.