In recent times many questions have arisen for different apps and companies for using clipboard information, microphone, camera and other similar things without the knowledge of the user. LinkedIn was one of the most recent ones to be guilt of recording things without the knowledge of the device’s user. It is a severe matter of privacy breach and Apple which boasts of privacy, have introduced a new feature in iOS 14 that will come in real handy for this situation.
Apple is a company that takes pride in the fact that their customer base gets a secure environment to anything that they want. For the premium that they charge for their devices, they do deliver on it too. And now with iOS 14, we have a new feature that shows an orange dot at the top of the screen of your iPhone. How does that improve the privacy and security of iOS devices? Let’s find out in this article.
What does the orange dot mean in iOS 14?
Now, whenever any app on our iPhone uses the microphone, we will see a small orange dot at the top right corner of our screen right above the network icon. This is in response to the increasing concern of the smartphone users that multinational companies are stealing their digital data and selling it off. There have been instances in the past where some apps were accused of using the camera or the microphone without the knowledge of the user, but that won’t be the case anymore for the iPhone users.
With iOS 14, every time any app on your device uses the microphone, you will see the orange dot at the top right corner. It does not matter what kind of an app is using the microphone. It will show up the orange dot even when any of Apple’s apps do it. If you are making a call, or you are interacting with Siri through voice commands, or maybe you are using the microphone for transcription from speech to text. No matter how or what operates the microphone on your iPhone, the orange dot will show up.
The microphone can be used to record audio and save it on your device, or maybe it is being recorded and being sent over to another network. Whatever may be the case, you will know it when the microphone is being used without your knowledge.
How to stop the privacy breach?
Just a few minutes after the orange dot shows up, you can pull down the control centre, and here at the top, you will see an orange icon with the microphone icon on it. Right next to the microphone icon, you will see the name of the application that recently used your microphone. If you suddenly see the orange dot icon and you are confused which app is using it then take a look at this control centre screen, and you will find the culprit. Now, it will not automatically stop the app though. If you feel an app is using your microphone without your knowledge, then you will just have to uninstall it on your own.
So that is what the orange dot means in iOS 14. If you have any questions or queries about this guide, then comment down below, and we will get back to you. Also, be sure to check out our other articles on iPhone tips and tricks, Android tips and tricks, PC tips and tricks, and much more for more useful information.