Your iPhone can do a lot to protect your privacy. With newer versions of iOS you can block app tracking, hide your email address, prevent apps from seeing your IP address, and review which apps can access your location, contacts, photos, and microphone.
However there is one privacy problem that your iPhone settings cannot solve, which is your personal information that has already been collected and published online by data brokers and people-search websites.
A quick search online can reveal your old address, age, relatives, and other personal information. Such information is gathered through marketing databases, loyalty programs, public records among other sources. Data brokers take this information and repackage it into searchable profiles. These profiles are then used by scammers to make unwanted marketing calls, spam calls, phishing attempts etc.
Thankfully, you can take practical steps right on your iPhone to reduce your exposure and protect your personal footprint online.
Use iOS’s built-in privacy tools
You can take advantage of iOS’s built-in privacy tools to boost your privacy.
Turn off Tracking: Go to Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Tracking and turn off ‘Allow Apps to Request to Track.” With this setting you can prevent third-party apps from asking permission to track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites.
Prevent tracking within Safari: Go to Settings -> Apps -> Safari and turn on ‘Prevent Cross-Site Tracking’. It is also recommended that you use the Private Browsing feature for searches and shopping sessions to reduce tracking.
Preview Permissions: Go to Settings -> Privacy & Security and review various permissions. Here you can stop different apps from accessing your Photos, Contacts, Location, Camera, Microphone and other things.
You can also subscribe to iCloud+ and take advantage of features like Private Relay and Hide My Email so your actual email address is hidden from apps. This is great for creating accounts within apps, subscribing to newsletters and websites without sharing your real email address.
Be careful about what you share online
Online data brokers take your information bit by bit. A seemingly innocent online quiz might ask you for your birthday. A shopping website requires you to share your phone number and address. A social networking app asks you to share your contacts list.
All of this data is then combined to create a comprehensive profile that is then shared with advertisers and marketers, and can often land into the hands of scammers.
When you are sharing information online stop and think, does this shopping website really need your actual birthday? Does a restaurant app really need to have access to your location data 24/7? Do you really need to enter your phone number when you want to gain access to an online video game? If answer to any of these questions is a no, try to avoid filling in unnecessary information or filling in bogus information.
Small changes do not make you invisible online, but they reduce the amount of new information entering advertising and data-broker systems.
Check what is already out there
Search yourself online. Enter your full name, city, phone number, old addresses, etc., and see what comes up. You may find your information on people-search pages that list more information than you expected.
A lot of these websites offer opt-out forms however handling removals yourself can be time-consuming. For users who prefer guidance on doing this themselves, the ClearNym opt-out platform provides opt-out guides for removing personal information from common people-search and data-broker websites. A great thing about it is that it continues checking for listings that reappear and has them removed again.
No service can promise to erase every trace of a person from the Internet. Public records, social media, content published by other people, etc., will still be there. Still, reducing exposure to the sites that package and sell personal profiles can make a meaningful difference.
Other things to do to protect data
Data removal works best alongside basic account security. Getting hacked and getting information leaked online can make removing personal information online really hard. Here are a few good practices that you should keep in mind going forward.
- Keep your iOS and apps updated to get latest security fixes and patches.
- Use strong and unique passwords for important accounts and store them in Apple’s Passwords app.
- Turn on two-factor authentication and take advantage of features like Passkeys to protect your accounts.
- Be skeptical of unexpected calls, links, and phone calls and avoid sharing your data.
- Never share verification codes, passwords, or banking details in response to an unsolicited message.
Privacy is an ongoing habit
When it comes to privacy on the Internet, there’s no single switch that will make your personal data disappear. The strongest approach combines privacy settings, secure accounts, and regular monitoring of what is publicly available.
Your iPhone can be a strong starting point because that is the device we spend most of our time on. Taking a few extra steps and being mindful when sharing information online can go a long way in boosting your online privacy.
