Charmed by the buttery smoothness of iOS 7, I switched to iPhone from Android around 7 years ago. What I seemingly lost in the customization department back then, I gained in the privacy aspect along with of course the clutter-free experience. Since then I have explored every iteration of iOS with a keen interest in changes related to security and privacy. As I’m all geared up to share the tips to improve security and privacy in iOS 14, I feel more pumped up than ever before – due largely to the setting where rivals like Google and Facebook seem to have upped the ante. If enhancing iOS 14 privacy is on your radar, you have landed at the right blog to get started!

From stopping usual suspects like Twitter and TikTok from snooping into your clipboard without your approval to blocking networking operators from tracking you across apps/websites to forcing apps to ask for permission for tracking in the plain language, iOS 14 has put privacy at the forefront.

  • Stop Apps from Tracking You Across Apps and Websites
  • Keep a Tab on the Green and Orange Dots
  • Restrict Apps from Having Access to Your Local Network
  • Prevent Network Operators from Tracking Your iPhone and iPad Across Networks
  • Prevent Apps from Having Access to Your Precise Location
  • Manage Third-Party Access to Your Photos App
  • Hide the Hidden Album
  • Check Safari Privacy Report
  • Password Monitoring and Compromised Password Alerts
  • App Store Privacy Reports
  • Manage Widgets Access to Your Location Data
  • Keep an Eye on Clipboard Access
  • Transfer Existing Web Accounts to Sign in with Apple
  • On-Device Dictation
  • Contacts Autofill
  • Remove Contact Suggestions in Share Sheet

1. Stop Apps from Tracking You Across Apps and Websites

In what could be a massive crackdown on Google and Android as their business model heavily relies on the advertisement, Apple has rolled out a privacy-centric feature that enables users to disable tracking. Besides, it also forces iOS apps to explicitly ask for permission to track users across apps and websites.

Whenever an app needs to use your iPhone camera or microphone, it asks for your permission in plain language. While this expected behavior is fine, there have been several instances where social media apps like Instagram and Facebook have been caught red-handed blatantly abusing this functionality. In other words, they have been found using your camera and microphone even if you have disallowed them.

No longer! With iOS 14, Apple has rolled a security feature that makes it incredibly straightforward to find out which app is currently using camera/microphone on your iPhone.

When you close the app using the camera/microphone and then access the Control Center on your iPhone, the camera/microphone icon will appear along with the name of the app which is using the feature.

Some apps that deal with Bluetooth or WiFi-based devices have a valid reason to access the local network (aka home network). However, there are certain resource-hogging apps like Facebook and TikTok that badly want to access it, even though there is very little clarity about what it does with the local network.

Fortunately, you can manage third-party access to your local network in iOS 14 or later. To get it done, launch the Settings app on your iOS device and choose Privacy. Now, find Local Network and tap on it. Now, you should see the list of all the apps that have access to your local network. Next, turn on/off the switch right next to each app to control its access.

To communicate with a Wi-Fi network, a device needs to use a unique network address known as MAC (Media Access Control) to identify itself to the network. And if the device is found to use the same Wi-Fi MAC address across all networks, it becomes quite easier for the network operators to relate that address to the device’s network activity and location. Furthermore, it also opens the gateway for user tracking or profiling of personal information.

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5. Prevent Apps from Having Access to Your Precise Location

Ever wished to stop an app from having access to your precise location even though you felt it was unnecessary? If yes, you would be glad to know that Apple has finally introduced a way to block apps from getting access to your approximate location.

6. Manage Third-Party Access to Your Photos App

Gone are the times where you had to let third-party apps like WhatsApp access your entire photo library even though you wanted to share just a handful of photos and videos. From now onwards, you can choose to allow third-party apps to access only specific photos. What’s more, you can even edit the already shared photos to block access to the images you no longer want to expose – both per-app basis or as a whole.

If you want to control third-party access to your Photos app right from one spot with better control, launch Settings app -> Screen Time -> Content & Privacy Restrictions. Make sure the toggle for Content & Privacy Restrictions is turned on. Now, tap on Photos. On this screen, you should see the list of all the photos which have access to your photo library. Next, select each app and then fine-tune its setting.

What’s the point in hiding something if you can’t keep it out of sight? Finally, iOS has offered a better way to keep the hidden album away from the prying eyes. So, if you no longer want anyone to easily discover your private photos, you should make the most of this all-new feature.

8. Check Safari Privacy Report

Safari has doubled down on privacy with the introduction of iOS 14. And guess what, the Apple web browser seems to have become more aggressive in terms of keeping a tab on trackers. The browser not only keeps an eye on data trackers but also prevents them from following you across websites.

9. Password Monitoring and Compromised Password Alerts

Another notable security and privacy feature that Safari has got is the ability to monitor passwords saved in iCloud Keychain (built-in password manager). Moreover, the browser also alerts you about the weak passwords that have been either compromised or likely to be compromised. Thanks to the direct links to websites, it allows you to change your passwords with ease.

With iOS 14, Apple has forced each app to clearly mention its stance on privacy. Thus, apps have now included a privacy section revealing how they manage privacy or for that matter how they handle the personal information of users.

So, before downloading any app on your iPhone, you check its privacy policy to find out how it uses your personal information. Once you have found an app you wish to download, navigate to the app information section, and tap on Privacy Policy. Now, you should see the detailed info related to how the app manages privacy.

Another notable privacy feature that you must keep in mind is the ability to control widgets’ access to your location data. For a change, you can now let both the app and its accompanying widget access your location at once or allow just the app to use your location. Considering how power-hungry location services, it’s always better to take control of it if you want to improve the battery life of your device.

So many apps like Twitter and TikTok have been found reading clipboard even without taking permission from users. Worse, they could access the clipboard even when it was unnecessary. With iOS 14, Apple has sorted out this long-existing privacy abuse with clarity.

If you want to keep your personal information private, always make sure to sign in with Apple. But what if you have already signed in using other services like Facebook or Google? Bother not, you can now transfer your existing web accounts to Sign in with Apple. To convert your login to the Sign in with Apple, simply select it at the sign-in screen and you are good to go.

Dictation has long been one of the most loved iOS features. And with iOS 14, it’s become more efficient in terms of letting you enter text using voice. By ensuring all the process is done offline, Apple has not only further enhanced the usability of dictation but also made sure it keeps the privacy of the user intact. Do note that the dictation used in the search still relies on a server-based process.

Putting users’ privacy on the forefront, Apple has added a smart autofill feature that prevents you from sharing contacts with third-party apps. Whenever you start typing someone’s name, iOS 14 automatically fills in information like their email addresses, addresses, phone numbers, etc. stored in the Contacts app.

16. Remove Contact Suggestions in Share Sheet

While I find the contact suggestions quite helpful as it makes sharing more convenient, some people may not want them to appear in the share sheet. Especially those who wish to prevent some personal contacts from popping up in the sharing sheet.

Without undermining the predecessors like iOS 12 or 13, I would like to say that iOS 14 seems to be more robust from a security and privacy perspective. While it may not be perfect as yet, it’s got most bases covered to be a complete operating system for iPhone.