You needn’t make your phone useless to make it more private. Here’s where to trim app access, curb ad tracking and hide what appears on your lock screen.
Your phone holds your bank app, family photographs, NHS messages and probably a few passwords you’d rather not test from memory. Yet a game you opened once might still have permission to see where you are. That seems a poor arrangement.
You don’t need to switch off every feature or buy a privacy gadget. Spend a few minutes reviewing what each app can see, then leave the protections that actually protect you switched on. The aim is a useful phone with fewer unnecessary guests.
Start with the permissions you granted to apps: access to your contacts, photographs, camera, microphone and location. On an iPhone, open Settings, then Privacy & Security, and work through those categories. On Android, look in Settings under Security & privacy or Privacy for Permission manager. Names vary between manufacturers, so the search box in Settings is often quicker than following someone else’s screenshots.
Don’t assume a permission is sinister just because it exists. A video-calling app needs your microphone. A navigation app needs your location. But a torch app has little reason to read your contacts, and a shop may not need your entire photo library simply because you want to upload one picture of a damaged parcel.
Review the permissions by app, not by a blanket rule. Remove contacts access from services where you never use a find-your-friends feature. Deny camera and microphone access to apps that have no convincing use for either. If a feature stops working, you can grant access again when you need it. That small inconvenience is preferable to leaving an old permission in place indefinitely.
Look particularly closely at apps you downloaded for a holiday, a one-off event or a brief flirtation with home workouts. If you no longer use one, uninstalling it is tidier than negotiating its permissions. Android can also pause activity and revoke permissions for unused apps; check that this protection hasn’t been disabled for something you’ve forgotten about.
Want to see whether an app is actually using its access? Android’s Privacy dashboard shows recent permission activity on supported versions. The iPhone’s App Privacy Report, under Privacy & Security, shows how apps use permissions you’ve granted and their network activity. Neither is a lie detector, but both make a better starting point than guesswork.
It can. That is why turning off location for the whole phone is usually a clumsy fix. Maps needs to know where you are to give directions; a taxi app needs somewhere to collect you. Go through the app list instead and ask whether each service needs your position all the time, only when you open it, or not at all.
On iPhone, visit Settings, Privacy & Security, then Location Services. On Android, open Settings and look for Location, then app location permissions. Where offered, change an app from constant access to access only while you’re using it. Choose Ask Every Time if you use it rarely. These are per-app decisions, so your satnav can still work while a shopping app loses its permanent invitation to follow you.
Don’t turn your phone’s senses off. Decide which apps deserve to use them.
Check precision, too. Both iPhone and Android can offer approximate rather than precise location for individual apps. A weather forecast may be perfectly good with an approximate position; turn-by-turn directions are another matter. On iPhone, tap an app in Location Services to find Precise Location. On Android, look within that app’s location permission for Use precise location, if your device offers it.
Be careful with location-sharing services you deliberately use with family. Changing an app’s permission could interrupt a genuinely helpful arrangement. Likewise, don’t confuse ordinary app access with emergency calling: Apple says an iPhone may still use location to help emergency responders during a call even if Location Services is off. The sensible job here is pruning unnecessary app access, not making your phone less useful in a crisis.
On iPhone, open Settings, Privacy & Security, then Tracking. You can withdraw tracking permission from apps on the list and switch off Allow Apps to Request to Track. This controls requests to track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites. It does not make you invisible to an app while you use its own service, nor will it abolish advertising. Sorry.
On Android, check Settings, Google, All services, Ads, then Ads privacy. Depending on your phone, you can turn off ad topics, app-suggested ads and ad measurement. These are separate controls: ad topics concern interests inferred from apps you use; app-suggested ads let one app suggest interests for ads elsewhere; measurement concerns information used to assess whether ads work. If you see an advertising ID option under Ads, review that separately. It is an identifier used for advertising, not a master switch for every kind of tracking.
It’s worth checking the privacy choices inside the apps you use most, too. A phone-level setting cannot rewrite a company’s own account preferences or undo information you have already given it. The UK Information Commissioner’s Office advises developers to be clear about why an app requests access to information. If the explanation for a permission is vague, you are entitled to say no and see whether the app still earns its place.
Finally, take a look at optional improvement settings rather than assuming every form of data collection is essential. On iPhone, Settings, Privacy & Security, Analytics & Improvements includes Improve Siri & Dictation. Apple says opting in allows it to store and review samples of interactions to improve the service. If that exchange doesn’t appeal, switch the option off; you needn’t stop using dictation altogether.
Privacy advice becomes daft when it tells you to disable everything. Leave automatic software and app updates on. The National Cyber Security Centre advises installing updates promptly because they fix security weaknesses; an old phone that no longer receives them is a more serious concern than an advertising preference. Check periodically that updates have installed, particularly if your storage is nearly full.
Keep a screen lock, and stop sensitive messages spilling across it. On iPhone, Settings, Notifications, Show Previews lets you choose When Unlocked or Never; you can also review individual apps. On Android, look for Notifications on lock screen and hide sensitive content. The exact menu varies by handset. A preview of an NHS appointment, banking alert or sign-in code should not be available to whoever picks up your phone.
Keep two-step verification on important accounts as well. It adds a second check when someone tries to sign in, and the NCSC recommends it for accounts including email and banking. Switching off advertising features is a reasonable preference; switching off account security is not a privacy upgrade. Do the permissions review now, then revisit it when you install a new app or notice an old one asking for more access.
To make your phone more private, revoke permissions apps no longer need, restrict location app by app, review ad-tracking choices and hide sensitive lock-screen previews. Keep updates, a screen lock and two-step verification switched on. You’re not trying to make the phone know nothing; you’re deciding which apps have a good reason to know anything.
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