Apple designed the iPhone to be user-friendly from the start, but many default settings run in the background without your knowledge, some tracking your activity, draining your battery, or sending your data to Apple. The good news is that a few simple tweaks can make your phone more private and faster.
Stop app tracking requests
Since Apple launched its “App Tracking Transparency” feature, apps are now required to ask for your permission before tracking your activity across other apps and websites. But these frequent pop-ups can become annoying.
To permanently stop orders: Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking → Turn off “Allow apps to request tracking”.
Stop sharing iPhone analytics
Your phone automatically collects crash reports and usage data and sends them to Apple. Even though this data is anonymized, many users prefer not to share it at all.
To stop it: Settings → Privacy and Security → Analytics and Improvements → Turn off all options.
Stop personalized ads
Apple uses your activity across its services to display personalized ads in the App Store, News app, and elsewhere. Turning this off won't stop the ads, but it will prevent your data from being used to target you.
To stop it: Settings → Privacy & Security → Apple Ads → Turn off “Personalized Ads”.
Stop important sites
You might be surprised to learn that your phone keeps a record of the places you visit regularly, such as your home, workplace, and favorite restaurants. Apple says this data is encrypted and localized, but many users prefer to disable this feature entirely.
To stop it: Settings → Privacy and Security → Location Services → System Services → Important Sites and Routes.
You can also delete the site history from the same page.
Disable the precise location of most apps
Most apps don't need your precise location; weather, shopping, and restaurant apps work efficiently with just an approximate location. Allowing precise location for every app drains your battery and poses a privacy risk.
To disable it for each application individually: Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Select App → Turn off “Precise Location”.
Exception: Navigation apps like Apple Maps and Google Maps actually need precise location.
Stop background app updates
This feature allows apps to update their content even when you're not using them. The problem is that many apps misuse this permission, draining the battery and consuming your data plan.
Most importantly, disabling this feature will not affect the delivery of notifications or messages, as they will continue to function normally.
To stop it: Settings → General → Background app refresh → Turn off the feature entirely or for specific apps.
Turn off autoplay videos in the App Store
The app store automatically plays game and app previews while you browse, which consumes your internet data and may distract you.
To disable or restrict it to Wi-Fi only: Settings ← Apps ← App Store ← Auto-play video ← Select “Wi-Fi only” or “Off”.
Stop automatic downloads
This feature automatically downloads apps and updates to all Apple devices linked to your account, which can drain your storage space and internet data plan without you noticing.
To stop it: Settings ← Apps ← App Store ← Turn off “App Downloads”, “App Updates”, and “In-App Content”.
Remember to manually update your apps from time to time to get security patches.
Turn off scheduled notification summaries if you are not using them.
This feature was designed to group notifications and deliver them at specific times instead of constantly interrupting you. However, in practice, many users find the feature unreliable; some important alerts arrive late, while less important notifications are sometimes prioritized.
To stop it: Settings → Notifications → Scheduled Summary → Turn off feature.
You don't need to disable all these settings at once, but reviewing them is a smart move worth a few minutes of your time. Some protect your privacy, some extend battery life, and some save you from daily annoyances. Most importantly, your phone will feel more controlled and better suited to your actual usage style.
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