Do YOU know what the color-coded dots on your iPhone mean?
Did you know that iPhones have warning signals to indicate when your privacy is being violated?
If you’ve ever seen the colored bar at the top of your Apple smartphone, you’ve seen it in action.
The colors appear on your black status bar, at the very top of the device. The three different colors mean three very different things.
An orange dot means your microphone is activated
Your eyes may fool you into seeing this as yellow, meaning you’re using your microphone – whether it’s for a FaceTime call or while watching a YouTube video.
Orange – where your eyes might be fooling you by seeing yellow means you’re using your microphone – be it for a FaceTime call or while watching a YouTube video
Green dot means your camera is activated
The green dot means you’re using your camera in some way, according to Apple’s own color-coding system.
This is triggered when your camera is looking directly at you, so not necessarily automatically when you open an app with an added camera feature, like Instagram.
The blue dot is the last dot you’ll occasionally see appearing on your phone. There is a white arrow in it.
Blue dot means your app has just been updated – and if you use maps
This arrow is pointing up – it’s been an iPhone feature since iOS 15 was released – in 2021.
This arrow turns gray when your location services are active, such as when you navigate somewhere with a map app.
But there’s another blue dot you might see appearing in your iPhone’s streamlined status bar.
It just means that an app was updated not too long ago – and this is a good sign anyway.
Have you ever noticed the handy color-coded bar on the top of your Apple smartphone? These appear on your black status bar, at the very top
It’s only natural that some apps need access to more sensitive parts of your phone – if you’re a TikToker, your camera is the gear you need for work.
And even if you’re not social media inclined, if you’ve ever bought an Uber, you’d have allowed your phone to access your location.
The problem occurs when your apps go too far.
For example, alarm bells should ring if a calculator app activates the green camera dot.
But if you go to “Control Center” under your iPhone’s “Settings,” you can check the dot icon at the top to show you which exact app is using your microphone, camera, or location.
If you’re particularly concerned, it’s best to head into settings, then turn on the “App Privacy Report” — it shows you which apps triggered these dots and when.