Have you ever wondered what the orange and green dots next to the notch on your iPhone mean? Don’t worry, you’re not alone in finding their existence confusing. First introduced in iOS 14, there’s a reason these indicators appear on the iPhone status bar. In this article, I’ll help you decipher these simple privacy symbols and why you should pay close attention to them when they appear in the status bar.
Orange and Green Dots in iPhone Status Bar (2022)
What Does the Orange Dot on the iPhone Status Bar Mean?
When an orange indicator appears in the iPhone status bar, it the app is currently using the microphone on your device. You’ll see an orange dot next to the notch on your iPhone when using Siri voice commands, recording notes, videos from the camera app, and when you’re in a Clubhouse sound room, among other things.
Now it’s safe to assume that almost all apps on your iPhone respect your privacy and will only access the microphone when needed. However, if you notice the orange dot on your device when it shouldn’t be there, it just means some app abuses microphone permission and eavesdrops in your speeches. We’ve explained how to fix this kind of privacy loophole in the sections below.
It is worth noting that this indicator appears as an orange square if you have it enabled. “Differentiate Without Color” feature on your iPhone. Set course to “Settings -> Accessibility -> Display and Text Size” and enable/disable toggle “Colorless Different” according to your need.
What Does the Green Dot on the iPhone Status Bar Mean?
If you see a green dot in the iPhone status bar, it means: an app is actively using the camera on your device. It’s also worth noting that the green indicator not only refers to camera permission, but camera access also refers to microphone permission access. Joyful will not see a separate orange dot Although it can be used with the camera here for microphone access.
For example, as you can see in the screenshot above, I’m using the FaceTime app on my iPhone and I only see the green indicator next to the notch. Indicates that the app is currently using both the camera and microphone.
Now, if you see the random green dot on your iPhone, it means that some app is violating your privacy by accessing the camera and recording you without your permission. Follow the steps in the section below to find out which app it is and get it under control.
What Is The Purpose Of The Green And Orange Dots On The iPhone?
The green and orange dots are like alarms designed to alert you about camera and microphone usage on your iPhone. If an application is using them unnecessarily, you can take action immediately and disable access.
Disable Camera and Microphone Permissions for Apps
So, if you are wondering if the orange or green dot on your iPhone can be disabled. The answer is yes and you can follow the steps below:
1. Go to: Settings -> Privacy on your iPhone.
2. Next, go to the “Privacy” settings menu. Access “Camera” and “Microphone” permissions individually.
3. Just turn off the button next to the name of the app you want to disable the camera (green dot) or microphone (orange dot) on your iPhone.
How do you know which apps are accessing camera or microphone permissions though? Apple has made it easy to know which app last had access to any of these permissions. To open the Control Center, simply swipe down from the top-right corner of your iPhone. At the top of the Control Center, you will see the permission type (camera or microphone) along with the name of the app, as shown in the screenshot below.
More often than not, apps were caught red-handed using microphones and cameras secretly. Apps that need these privacy features in order to work will completely abuse the permission you give them, in the guise of providing a personalized experience.
“Facebook is being sued for allegedly spying on Instagram users for market research. Instagram users noticed a green FaceTime symbol appearing at the top of the Control Panel while navigating their feed. The green symbol appears when the camera is activated,” he said. independent report.
Worse still, there’s no shortage of shady apps that want access to the camera and microphone, even for no obvious reason. And once they gain access via hook or spoof, they can abuse their camera and microphone permissions at will.
Since there is no way to tell when apps are using your iPhone camera/microphone in iOS 14, you can’t do anything to avoid this nasty game. With the release of the App Privacy Report in iOS 15, Apple tightened the screws on apps’ access to privacy features. You can use this new iOS 15 setting to monitor each activity of apps.
Green and Orange Dots Track Camera/Microphone Usage on iPhone
Hopefully, you now have a good understanding of what the orange and green dots mean and the sole purpose behind their existence. Yet that is not all. Apple has also rolled out a number of other security and privacy features over the past few years, including App Monitoring, Local Network, Private MAC address, and more. While these features seem to put a lot of pressure on ad-serving apps, they’re a godsend for privacy-conscious users. Let me know what you think about this privacy-centric feature and if it’s important for you to know about microphone and camera access.
