Your iPhone is probably listening in on you and waiting for specific trigger words (such as “Hey Siri”) so that it can respond to your needs with efficiency. While Apple’s reasons for listening may not be all nefarious (though it’s hard to argue they aren’t self-serving), this doesn’t mean you’re going to necessarily feel comfortable with your phone more or less spying on you.
Our devices are becoming increasingly more sophisticated in the ways in which they track us, and it’s difficult to prevent this from happening completely unless you commit to abolishing several apps, including social media and even weather apps that can compromise your data, security, and privacy. But you can take steps to prevent your iPhone from “secretly” listening in on you, as one tech expert explains:
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Turn off these three settings ASAP to retain more privacy.
1. Mic
Many apps ask for permission to listen in on you via your phone’s microphone. You may not remember allowing them to do this, but it’s important to check your settings and take inventory on which apps are using your app — and then disable this permission for them. Go to Settings > Privacy > Microphone > scroll down and disable Mic for all of the apps that have it enabled.
2. Siri
As helpful as Siri may be as your own personal AI assistant, there’s no doubt it listens in on your conversations in order to perform properly. You can delete Siri or disable it. Go to Settings > Siri & Search > toggle Press Side Button for Siri. If you’d prefer to keep Siri but disable the “Hey Siri” feature, go to Settings > Siri & Search > toggle “Listen for Hey Siri” off.
3. Apple Analytics (Voice & Audio Data)
In order to improve its system, Apple collects audio data, including anything that Siri has collected. There’s a way to keep iPhone from doing this, though: go to Settings > Privacy > Analytics & Improvements. Disable Share iPhone & Watch Analytics and Share Siri & Dictation Data.
