TECHNOLOGY CORNER
Privacy Guide for Your Apple iOS 15 Devices
CHRISTOPHER B . HOPKINS
Earlier this year , Governor DeSantis declared that Florida will “ ensure the protection of Floridians ’ personal and private information .” It certainly sounded good . The average American uses their phone more than five hours a day and checks it more than 60 times per day . Unfortunately , the privacy law which emerged suffered a number of constitutional failings and was almost immediately enjoined . The case of Netchoice v . Florida currently sits on appeal .
While the State of Florida struggles to enact effective and constitutional privacy protections for social media content , the good news is that iPhone and iPad users have some fairly robust privacy protections when they upgrade to iOS 15 ( on your device , head to Settings / General / Software Update ). Consider changing the following security settings :
Know What ’ s Installed - Let ’ s first ensure that nothing was surreptitiously installed on your device by someone else . Under Settings , scroll down past “ TV Provider ” and make sure you can identify every app listed . Scroll back up to General / VPN & Device Management and ensure there is nothing unusual there as well .
Hide Your IP Address in Safari - Websites can identify your device through its IP address . Apple now allows you to hide that information . Go to Settings / Safari / Hide IP Address and select “ tracker only .”
Only You Can Access Your Device - You likely open your device through Face ID . Make sure no one else has programmed their face to allow access to your device . Head to Settings / Face & Passcode and ensure there is no “ alternative appearance ” set .
Turn All of These Off - Unless you have a specific need for any of the following settings , head to Settings / Privacy and turn off Nearby Interactions , Speech Recognition , and Research Sensor & Usage Data . Under “ Local Network ,” turn off any app that does not need to connect to other devices ( e . g ., printers and IOT devices are fine but turn off non-essentials like browsers and social media apps ).
Stop With the Tracking - Under Settings / Privacy , select Location Services and scroll down to System Services . Turn off Location- Based Suggestions , Significant Locations ,
Analytics , and Routing & Traffic . Back under Privacy , select Tracking and make sure the toggle is off . Finally , also under Privacy , scroll down to Analytics & Improvements and Apple Advertising and turn those off .
Stop Apps from Tracking Your Location - Back under Privacy / Location Services , go down the list of apps and , unless it is critical , set them to “ never ” or “ while using .”
App Privacy Report - Your device will maintain a 7-day log of which apps access various sensors and your camera and whether the apps are sending out that information . Start the log by going to Setting / Privacy / Record App Activity . Revisit in a few days .
Mail Privacy Protection - Marketers send you emails with small pixels which reveal when you open their emails . Block that information ( as well as your IP address ) by going to Settings / Mail / Privacy protection and toggling both switches on .
Access to Your Camera , Microphone , Bluetooth - Under Settings / Privacy , review Camera , Microphone , and Bluetooth , check which apps have access to see , hear , and connect . Many apps overreach ( e . g ., why does LinkedIn need access to your microphone ?). Turn these off . If the app really needs access later , it will notify you .
Hide Your Health Info - Under Settings / Health , check the listed apps to ensure you want to share your information . If not , tap “ Health ” and then delete all data . Research studies should be set to “ none .”
Stop Google Maps from Recording You - Do not let Google Maps record everywhere you go . In the app , hit your image in the upper right corner , select “ Your data in Maps ,” and then set Location History to “ Paused .” Review the other privacy settings on that page as well .
Are You at Your Desk ? - Under Settings / Mail / Signature , turn off “ sent from my iPhone ” ( also , we ’ re not amused by your pardon-myfat-fingers byline ). Why tell people that you are out ? Also , when you reply to an email , the title will be “ RE :” if you are on a computer but “ Re :” when it is a mobile device . If you want to appear to be at your desk , just capitalize the “ e ” in “ RE ” in the title of your email .
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Don ’ t Reveal Your Location in Photos - Under Settings / Privacy / Location Services , toggle Camera to “ never .”
Is Someone Tracking You or Reading Your Texts ? Under Settings / Privacy / Location Services / Share My Location , switch off the toggle unless you intend to always share your location . Back under Settings , scroll down to Messages and make sure Send and Receive is set to your phone number and no other email or device . Turn off Messages on all devices except your iPhone .
Don ’ t Send Read Receipts - There is no reason someone should know when you read a text . Under Settings / Messages , turn off Send Read Receipts .
Are Your Deleted Photos Really Deleted ? - Open the Photos app , select Albums , and scroll down to Hidden and Recently Deleted to manage unwanted images .
Keep Your Devices Together - If you always have your iPhone and iPad together , you can get a notice if they are separated or lost . On your phone , go to the FindMy app , select Devices , and then select the companion device . Under Notifications , select “ Notify When Left Behind .”
Set an Apple ID Recovery Contact - Set an emergency contact if you are locked out of your Apple ID . Head to Settings / [ your name ] / Password & Security / Account Recovery / Add Recovery Contact and follow the steps .
This article is the sixth time we have covered iOS privacy settings in this column since iOS 6 in 2012 . While some of the foregoing steps have not changed significantly , Florida lawyers are tasked with the ethical responsibility of understanding the “ risks associated with the use of technology .” Comment to Rule 4-1.1 . Keep your data , and your client ’ s data , as safe as possible .
Christopher B . Hopkins , with McDonald Hopkins , LLC , handles privacy and cybersecurity litigation matters . Snoop and track him at chopkins @ mcdonaldhopkins . com .