Steven Emerson, technical expert of Mobile Biponi, shares two more nuggets of wisdom on how to effectively prevent spam:
** Filter Messages From Unknown Numbers. “This setting will let you clock the messages, which are most possibly spam, from unknown numbers,” Emerson says. “To activate this, go to SETTINGS >> MESSAGES, then toggle on FILTER UNKNOWN SENDER. This will have your messages displayed in two columns, the ones you know and the ones you don't. You can also tag the unknown number as blocked or spam.”
** Block Calls from Unknown Numbers. “This is to protect you from unknown callers,” Emerson says. “Go to SETTINGS >> PHONE, then toggle on CALL BLOCKING AND IDENTIFICATION. You can add specific numbers here or just all the unknown numbers.”
The truth is: iPhones are an exciting device but their battery life is not that amazing, says David Attard, a digital, consultant and web designer at Collectiveray.com. “People regularly complain that their iPhones do not last a whole day on a single charge,” Attard says. “There is one thing you can do to make sure you have that extra juice when you need it. Go to the Control Center, turn off location, bluetooth or any wireless connection that you do not need. These wireless connections remain active and consume battery life constantly. Make sure you turn them off when you are not using them.”
While you are turning off settings that are extraneous, unnecessary, and battery-consuming, Olivia Tan, co-founder of CocoFax, has another suggestion for one you might not miss at all: Siri.
“One setting that would make an iPhone run faster, guarantee longer battery life, and improve security is to turn-off assistant,” Tan says. “While assistants can be extremely helpful — they can also be extremely consuming of your battery power and bad for privacy.”
According to Tan, assistants like Siri and Google Assistant are most of the time listening to you and your conversation and are active — thus, draining the battery. “Your best bet is to turn them off when not needed,” Tan says.
To disable your virtual assistant, go to Setting, select Apple ID, select iCloud, and then scroll down to Siri to turn it off.
The best thing about changing these settings, aside from the benefit of a faster battery and stronger security, is that it takes just minutes to do — and, if you change your mind at any time and want Siri back in your life, simply adjust the setting and you can ask her about the weather again.