Apple's operating systems are in continuous development. The iPhone usually receives updates every short period of time. They usually improve features to speed up system loading, fix bugs, or add new features. However, most of the improvements that users of Apple phones and tablets receive are related to security. Apple has spent a few years now focusing all its communication efforts on demonstrating that iOS is a secure system focused on user privacy. And they demonstrate this with small updates that go unnoticed at first glance, but are really useful. Starting with iOS 14, the iPhone began to display a small colored dot next to the mobile coverage icon. sometimes it is Verde and in others it is colored orange. What does it mean? Why is it sometimes green and sometimes orange? What does it have to do with privacy? Well, today we will solve these questions that sow so many doubts among iPhone owners.
that they do not watch you
Many years ago, laptops began to equip a small green or white LED next to the webcam. If the webcam was active, the LED would light up. This feature was a basic security measure, since with the advent of massive viruses, it was quite common for hackers to want to use our computer's webcam to spy on us and then blackmail us.
On well-built computers, the LED is powered by the same track as the camera. Thus, it is impossible to turn off the LED by software. If there is power to the camera, the LED turns on. And if it turns on and it is not the user who has activated it, you can already begin to suspect something strange.
But of course, smartphones arrived and psychosis returned. Mobile phones do not have LEDs next to the cameras. How can we be sure that they are not taking control of our front camera? And what about the microphone? Haven't you ever suspected that some application may be using your microphone without your permission? For these situations, both iOS and Android have undergone a complete redesign of permission management. However, Apple has placed even more emphasis on this aspect, and they make it even easier for you with this small color dot which we will talk about next.
What does the orange and green dot mean on the iPhone?
In its eagerness to keep the user's privacy completely intact, Apple has added a curious function that will allow users to know at all times if an application you are using the microphone or the front camera without the user knowing. To do this, it has placed two colored dots that will quickly draw your attention when one of these two requirements is met.
If, for example, you are in an application and decide to take a selfie from it to use the resulting image, when you take the photo and the camera is activated, a green dot will appear to let you know that the front camera is in use. . This is obvious given that you are seeing the image preview on the screen, but what if the application continues to collect information when you close it?
That is where the color LED makes sense, since we would know at all times that the camera is still active. It is a notification led that imitates the Green LED that we can find in the Macbook next to the webcam. But in addition to the camera, we could also know if another of the elements that most affect the privacy of users is being used, and it is none other than the microphone.
In that case the point will appear colored orange, so if you see it you could know instantly that there is a resident application that continues to listen to your chats in private. This new functionality is tremendously useful, because managing the permissions of the applications on our iPhone is not always enough. For example, many times we use an app and give the camera and microphone permissions to use it. But… How can I be sure that when I minimize the app and leave it in the background, it doesn't continue to collect data? Well, since iOS 14, if an app uses the microphone while it's in the background, the LED will turn orange. And the same, but in green if you are using one of your iPhone's cameras. As soon as you realize this, you can take action by removing the necessary permissions. That yes, before you will have to discover which app is the one that is doing this type of misdeeds.
What app is using the camera?
If the color led has appeared and you want to know exactly which application is using the camera or microphone, you just have to lower the control center to see clearly which application is using the camera or microphone as and as the color point alerted you. You won't have to do anything special, because the system itself will notify you of the name of the application that is using the camera or microphone. Immediately afterwards, you can now move on to the last step: revoke the permissions.
How can I remove access to the microphone and camera?
If these visual notifications have allowed you to discover that an app is watching you at all times, you have two options to prevent it from happening again. On the one hand, you can completely uninstall it and make it disappear forever, or on the other hand, you can access the system settings and modify the permissions that the application has in order to revoke access to the camera or microphone.
This is the exact path you must follow to do so:
- Settings > App name > Camera / Microphone