Seven privacy settings you should change immediately in iOS 8
The minute you download and install iOS 8, the latest version
of Apple's mobile operating system for iPhone and iPad, you should take
note of these privacy steps in order to lock down your device.
iOS 8 has a number of new features tied to your location. It also has
new privacy settings, allowing users to limit how long data is stored
for, such as message expiry features and new private browsing settings. Before you do anything like customizing your phone, loading new apps,
or syncing your data for the first time, these first seven settings
need to be checked, and if necessary, changed.
1. Limit apps from tracking your location in the background
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Some apps will ask to use your location in the background — even when
you're not actively using it. If you see this message, it means an app
wants to keep using your location. You may see popups and other
notifications from the app, depending on where you're located.
For privacy, select Don't Allow when it displays.
You may have to do this a number of times with different apps. You can
always change this setting in your device's settings.
2. Prevent apps from accessing, uploading your data
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Your contacts, email, calendar, and your photos are some of your most
personal bits of data. You can set apps to access this data when it
needs it — such when Twitter's indicates a contact of yours has joined
the microblogging service.
However, in many cases these apps upload your contact list to their
servers. This can drastically invade your privacy if that data is
stolen. Go to Settings > Privacy and select each app, like Contacts, and swipe on or off which third-party apps you want to grant access to.
This may take a while depending on your apps. If you have already
granted an app access to your contacts, or other personal data,
switching off the service does not mean that service will delete your
data. You will have to contact that company or app maker for this.
3. Enable 'Find My iPhone' for lost and stolen devices
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If you lose your iPhone or iPad, you can generally find it again with
the Find Your iPhone app. It displays on a map where your device is,
which can be handy if it's stolen. You can provide that to law
enforcement in such a case.
Head to Settings > iCloud > Find My iPhone (or iPad) and make sure that it is switched on. You may need to enter your device passcode to authorize this.
Also, by selecting Send Last Location, with less
than 1 percent of battery life left, your device will update Apple's
servers with the last location — just before it powers down.
4. Allow iMessages, voice, and video to expire over time
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New in iOS 8 are voice and video messages, sent through Apple's
data-based iMessage network. These can be stored on your device
indefinitely. But if you lose your phone, and do not have the security
or protections enabled, anybody can scroll back weeks, months, or even
years to see your old conversations.
At any rate, it's good to keep local or iCloud-based backups for your old data.
To reduce the time in which iMessage data is stored on your device, go to Settings > Messages > Keep Messages, and select the time you wish to retain your messages.
Go back a step and check the Audio Messages and Video Messages as well. These options offer shorter life-spans.
5. Prevent sharing your location to others
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Although a handy feature, if you are in a busy place, such as a town,
city, or crowded indoor venue, it acts as a beacon for your location.
If you decide to switch this option off, head to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Share My Location. From here, you can disable it. You can also decide to share other device locations that are connected to your iCloud account.
6. Prevent iPhone location-based tracking
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Some iOS 8 system services track your location for advertising,
location-based alerts, and for enhancing your cell coverage. Not only
can they be a drain on your battery life, they can also open you up to
heavy-duty location tracking — even if third-party apps and services are
not involved.
Although one for the paranoid, you can change these options in Settings > Privacy > LocationServices > System Services and select which services you wish to disable.
The best one to keep enabled is Find My iPhone. Others like Spotlight Suggestions for better search results are generally better than the location-based advertising services for example.
7. Limit advertisers tracking your location, data
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Safari had a mini-makeover in iOS 7 and iOS 8, and now offers a
number of privacy-related tweaks. One of the key ones relates to
advertising, which can track and monitor your location.
A little tricky to find, as it's not in the Safari settings, you can head to Settings > Privacy > Advertising and enable the Limit Ad Tracking option. From here, make sure you hit the Reset Advertising Identifier option, and then accept any prompts.
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