Guarding Your Privacy in iOS 8

iOS beats just about any modern operating system when it comes to protecting your privacy. But as with any computing device, you must do a bit of tweaking to maximize your privacy, like setting a passcode ①.

① Privacy starts at home. If you don’t protect your device with a passcode or fingerprint, then anyone who has physical access can see your personal information.

Setting a Passcode

Everyone should have a passcode enabled on their devices. The passcode protects your photos, messages, browser history, and more from nosy eyes. Here’s how to configure it:

Go to Settings > Passcode (on Touch ID-enabled devices, this is Settings > Touch ID & Passcode).
Tap Turn Passcode On.
Enter a four-digit passcode ②.

② A four-digit passcode can protect your device from casual snooping.
Enter the passcode again.

Tip: If you prefer a passcode that will be more secure than a four-digit PIN, disable Simple Passcode in Settings > Passcode.
In the passcode view, specify how long your device has to be unused before requiring a passcode to unlock it. There are a number of options, ranging from immediately to 4 hours.
Consider enabling the Erase Data option, which automatically erases everything on your device after ten failed passcode attempts. If you recover an erased device, you can restore it from a backup, though that might be difficult or impossible while traveling.

New! Privacy Features

Better Wi-Fi privacy: When scanning for Wi-Fi networks, iOS 8 uses randomized MAC addresses (an otherwise unique identifier) to make it more difficult to track your movements in public.
Camera: Access to your device’s camera now requires explicit permission, which can be controlled in Settings > Privacy.
DuckDuckGo: Safari now lets you use the DuckDuckGo search engine, which is more privacy-conscious than the competition. To learn more, see my TidBITS article Search in Private with DuckDuckGo.
Granular location sharing and location-use descriptions: An app can opt to request access to your location only while the app is open, not while it’s running in the background. In addition, developers can now provide information about when and how their apps use location information, making it easier for you to decide whether or not to allow tracking. If provided, you can see this information in Settings > Privacy > Location Services by tapping the app name (if location access is enabled for that app) ③.

③ Developers can now explain why they need access to your location.

The developer’s explanation, and information about location granularity, is displayed in small print below the Allow Location Access setting.

Setting up Touch ID

Touch ID, available on newer iPhones and iPads, lets you scan your fingerprint on the Home button instead of typing a passcode. In some cases, it also replaces your having to input a password, such the one that goes with your Apple ID.

If you have a Touch ID–equipped device, you were prompted to set up Touch ID when you set up the device. But in case you skipped that step, or want to edit your settings, here’s how:

Go to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode (if you see only Settings > Passcode, either you do not have a Touch ID device or something is wrong with your hardware).
Enter your passcode, if prompted.
Tap Add a Fingerprint.
When prompted, place your finger on the Home button (without pressing it) several times until scanning is complete.
You are prompted to scan the edges of your finger. Follow the onscreen instructions.
Repeat for each finger you might want to use to unlock your device. You can scan up to five digits. I recommend both thumbs, your index fingers, and maybe a spouse’s finger.

After setup, I recommend naming each finger by tapping its listing in Settings > Touch ID & Passcode and entering a name into the text field ④.

④ To name or delete a fingerprint, tap its entry in Settings > Touch ID & Passcode.

Deleting a Fingerprint

Open Settings > Touch ID & Passcode, slide the fingerprint’s entry to the left, and tap Delete. Or, tap the entry and tap Delete Fingerprint.

Understanding Privacy Settings

Settings > Privacy offers many options for securing your privacy. Let’s look at the high points:

Disable ad tracking: If you do nothing else, you should tap Advertising (way at the bottom) and make certain that Limit Ad Tracking is on. If this switch is off, advertisers track information about you (anonymously) and use it to serve personalized ads within certain apps. But you gain no benefit from letting advertisers track you, unless these ads match things you genuinely want to see ads for—they probably won’t, if you notice them at all.

Tip: If you want your spouse to be able to access your device, you can scan one of his or her fingers, too.

⑤ Turning on Limit Ad Tracking in Settings > Privacy > Advertising is an easy way to protect your privacy.

Diagnostics & Usage: Choose whether or not to send anonymous diagnostic data to Apple. To preserve privacy and battery life, I leave this off.
Microphone: Tap to toggle the switches for which apps may access your microphone. It’s a good idea to check this setting every now and again to make sure nothing is listening in without your knowledge.
Enable or disable location tracking: Tap Location Services to specify which apps can see your geographic location ⑥.

⑥ In Settings > Privacy > Location Services, the arrows and labels tell you when each app last accessed Location Services.

You can turn Location Services completely off, which I don’t recommend—you won’t be able to use the Maps app, for example—or you can disable location services on a per app basis. It’s a good idea to disable access for apps that don’t need it. For instance, Google Maps definitely needs to know my location, but Secret, which is supposed to be an anonymous social network, certainly does not.
Per app: The Settings > Privacy screen has several options to limit access to app data from other apps. For example, tap Photos to see a list of apps that have access to your photo library.

Location Services Arrow Icons

An item on the Location Services screen may display a tiny arrow icon, similar to the Location Services icon in the status bar. This icon can help you assess when an app has last tracked your location:

Solid purple: The app has recently used your location.
Solid gray: The app has used your location in the past 24 hours.
Purple outline: The app is using a geofence.

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