List of top ten hidden iOS features and settings
3. Next, here's
another really big one that you should disable, again under Privacy, then Location
Services, and all the way at the bottom click "System Services". Look
for the option called "Location-Based Apple Ads", and disable that.
It should be self-explanatory, but I definitely don't want my phone using up
battery life just to send me advertisements, what a joke. And like the other
setting, we did before, if you scroll down you'll see a section called
"product improvement". Again, I would disable all of these if you don't
want Apple using your information for anything.
4. This next
one is pretty great. Go to Settings, iTunes and App Store, then look for the
In-App Ratings and Reviews option, and disable that. Doing this will stop apps
from being able to ask you to review them on the app store, which is really
obnoxious. Apple recently changed their app store policies so apps have to
honor this setting, and use a new API for requesting reviews. Though this does
mean that if the app you're using hasn't been updated recently, it still might
be able to. Also, I've seen some apps that are up to date, and still bug me
about reviews, so hopefully, Apple will begin cracking down on apps that don't
honor this option. But it should still help.
5. Next up is
another setting in this menu, called "Video Autoplay", where you will
have the option to enable, disable or enable only when on Wi-Fi. I keep this
disabled, which makes it so when you're browsing the app store, it doesn't
automatically just start playing video previews that I don't want to see. Of
course, you can still always click them to play them manually, which is the way
it should be in my opinion.
6. Alright, The next few have to do with security. This next one is for anyone who only has a four-digit numeric passcode. You'll want something stronger than that for a couple
reasons, but in any case, go to Settings, Touch ID, and Passcode, then click
"Change Passcode". After you type in your passcode once, you'll see
an option for "passcode options" so click that. Here, you can choose
multiple types of passcodes. Four-digit numeric which is the weakest, and you probably
shouldn't use it. I would recommend at least using custom numeric, and choosing
something at least 5 or 6 digits long. Or for the most security, choose an
alphanumeric passcode. One obvious benefit of this is that it makes it a lot
harder for a thief to guess your password. Every extra number makes your
passcode 10 times stronger, and if you're using touch-ID, you don't need to type
it in that often anyway. Also, if you use a longer passcode, it makes it harder
for anyone else to spy on you typing in your password and remember it, like if they're
looking over your shoulder.
7. Ok moving on. You might not realize this, but by default, a lot of your data can be accessed right from the lock screen, without your phone being locked. To fix this, again go to the Touch ID and Passcode menu, and scroll down to the options under "Allow access when locked". Look through these and see if you want to disable any. For example, you might not want someone to be able to return a missed call without typing in the password. Or, say you have a smart lock for your door at home or something, you probably want to disable "Home Control" so no one can unlock your door from the lock screen. But a really big one is Siri. Siri can do a lot, and you might not want people to be able to access it from the lock screen. Apple has actually improved it so you need to type in your passcode to access the most sensitive data, like your emails. But for some things, like asking about your most recent call, it will still show anyone without a passcode. So unless you use Siri a lot from the lock screen, best to keep it disabled.
8. This next set has to do with two-factor authentication, something I've advocated
forever. In settings click your name at the top for Apple ID, iCloud, and iTunes.
Then click Password & Security, and enable "Two Factor
Authentication". The process will make it so whenever you want to log into
your Apple account from a new device, you'll need to enter a second code that's
either sent to your phone number or can be shown on one of your other trusted
iOS devices. This is great for some reasons, first of all, if someone
somehow gets your password, like from another database breach you don't know
about. Also, someone might even be able to call up Apple support and convince
them they're you and have all your information changed. If you enable two-factor authentication, it makes it even more difficult for someone to try and
impersonate you. For maximum security, you'll also enable the recovery key option.
Last I checked, you're given one when you sign up for it, but if you choose, you
can make it so only your recovery key can be used to reset your password. Not
even an Apple support person could do it. Obviously, if you do that, DO NOT LOOSE
THE KEY. Make several copies of it, store it in a safe place, like with your
passport or other important documents, because if you lose it and forget your
password, you will lose your Apple account forever lacking that recovery
key.
9. Alright we
still got a few more settings to change. For the next one, go to Settings,
Display and Brightness, and then Auto-Lock. The lower you have this set, the
more secure your phone will be. If you happen to just set your phone down, this
is how long it will take before your phone locks itself. Obviously
"never" isn't a great idea, because then anyone who walks by can get
into your phone unless the battery runs out. Ideally, you'd set this to 30
seconds, but I actually have it set to 1 minute because the screen will dim 10
seconds before it locks, meaning if it's on 30 seconds, and says you're reading
something and don't touch the screen, it will dim after just 20 seconds, which
is really annoying.
10. Next up is actually one of my favorites, and you might already know about this feature, called "Night Shift". Under settings to go Display & Brightness, then Night Shift. This feature allows you to change the color of the screen at night so it's less harsh on your eyes and making it a bit more orange. This reduces the blue light coming from the screen, which is known to disrupt our sleep. I'd recommend setting it on max and believe me, you probably won't even notice the difference because your eyes will get used to it, but it will help. And I like to keep mine from sunrise to sunset, so it changes automatically. But you can also either manually enable it, or choose your own times to schedule it. And if you're skeptical, try keeping it enabled at night for a few hours, and then turn it off for a second, and I'm pretty sure you'll be surprised.
11. Ok almost
finished, I also really like this next one. In the settings click on your Apple
ID at the top, and then click iCloud, then "Find My iPhone". Now yes,
I know you probably already have to Find My iPhone enabled, but that's not what
we're here for. You actually want to enable the setting called" Send Last
Location". With this, if your phone's battery is about to die, it will
send out one last signal within its location. At least that way, if you forgot
your phone somewhere, you'll know where to check first. And hopefully, if it
didn't move since then, it should still be there.
12. And finally,
this setting might be good to change for anyone with a limited data plan, which
is probably most people. Go to Settings, Cellular, and near the bottom look for
"Wi-Fi Assist". This allows your phone to fall back onto cellular data
if the current Wi-Fi network has a poor connection. This sounds great, but if
you have a limited data plan, it could be eating through a lot of data. It will
actually say right there how much data it's used, so if it's not a lot, you can
probably just leave it on. And obviously, if you have unlimited data you can
keep it on because it doesn't matter. But if you do have a data cap, and see
it's using, say a few hundred megabytes or more, you should probably turn that
off if you tend to find yourself running low on data every month.
So, that should cover it. If you have any other really good settings to change, be sure to let us know down in the comments, and check down there as well to see if anyone else came up with some good ones that I didn't.
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