TOP 5 ways to prevent iPhone from tracking you named

Despite Apple's loud claims that it cares about its users' privacy, many of the default iOS settings suggest otherwise.

Fortunately, all of this is pretty easy to fix.

In addition to the well-known privacy settings, there are a few lesser-known ones that can further protect your personal information.

It will take you no more than a few minutes.

See for yourself.

Turn off «advanced visual search» in photos

With the release of iOS 18, Apple introduced the  «Enhanced Visual Search» feature, designed to improve the search for photos by comparing them with a global index maintained by Apple.

While this may make it easier to find images, it also means your photos and related’data are shared with by default to Apple.

Privacy advocates have raised concerns about the potentially disclosure&of confidential information being seen through this feature. It's hard to imagine Apple giving someone your photos, but the company could, for example, train artificial intelligence based on them.

You may not mind, but many people won't like the idea.

To disable«Advanced Visual Search», follow these steps:

• Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
• Scroll down and tap Photos.
• Find Advanced Visual Search. and turn it off.

By turning this setting off, you retain control over your photo data so it is not automatically analyzed and shared without your consent.

Turn on Lockdown Mode for added security

Introduced a few years ago in iOS 16, Lockdown Mode offers an extreme level of security for users who may be vulnerable to sophisticated cyberattacks.

When enabled, some features are limited to reduce potential vulnerabilities, such as blocking most message attachments, disabling complex web technologies, and limiting incoming invitations and service requests.

To enable Blocked Mode, follow these steps:

• Go to Settings» > «Privacy and Security».
• Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Lockdown Mode.
• Click Enable Lockdown Mode, and then click Enable and Reboot.

Although this mode limits some of the device's capabilities, it significantly increases protection against potential spyware and hacking attempts.

Of course, using it all the time is probably pointless and not very convenient. But at certain moments it can calm your nerves.

Use the «Hide My Email» function to protect your identity

After all, you have often encountered the fact that when registering on some service, they ask for your email address. And the danger is not even because then spam will fall on this address, but because this address can help track you.

Many users specifically create «trash» mailboxes for registering on various services. But Apple, in its characteristic, offers a more convenient solution.

Apple's«Hide My Mail» function allows you to create unique, random email addresses that are forwarded to your personal mailbox.

This allows you to subscribe to services or newsletters without revealing your real email address, thereby reducing the risk of spam and maintaining your privacy.

To use the«Hide my email» feature, follow these steps:

• Go to «Settings» > [Your name] > iCloud.
• Click «Hide my email».
• Click Create a new address and follow the prompts to generate a random email address.

This feature is especially useful when working with unfamiliar websites or services, ensuring the privacy of your personal email.

View privacy reports applications

And here's a more serious point.

iOS provides an App Privacy Report that shows you how often apps access sensitive information like your location, photos, camera, microphone, and contacts.

Regularly reviewing this report can help you identify apps that may be overstepping their authority. After all, you often install new apps without considering what permissions they ask for?

And later it turns out that’some innocent game or movie theater app has access to your location etc.

To access the app privacy report, follow these steps:

• Open Settings > Privacy & security.
• Scroll down and tap on App Privacy Report.
• If this option is not enabled already, tap Enable App Privacy Report.

By monitoring this report, you can make informed decisions about which apps to trust and adjust their permissions accordingly.

Control Bluetooth and Wi-Fi permissions

Some apps may request access to Bluetooth or Wi-Fi networks, which can be used to determine your location or tracking your activities without your explicit consent. The scheme looks very sophisticated, like something out of a spy movie, but let's not dismiss this danger from accounts.

Restricting app permissions to access Bluetooth and Wi-Fi can improve your privacy.

To manage these permissions, follow these steps:

• Go to «Settings» > «Privacy & Security».
• Click on Bluetooth and view the list of apps with access.
• Turn off access for all apps that don't need Bluetooth.
• Return to Privacy & Security and click on&Local Network.
• View and set permissions for apps that have requested access to local network.