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iPhone privacy settings to change right now

By The StrongRoom team · Published · Updated · Last verified on iOS 26.x on 2026-10-30

Start with who can see your photos. Open Settings > Privacy & Security > Photos and check every app on the list. Then stop the Camera saving location, turn off Location when you share a photo, review your shared albums and set AirDrop to Contacts Only. Finish with Stolen Device Protection. Each takes under a minute.

This page is a checklist of ten settings, in the order we would do them. Each item says where the setting is, what it changes and, just as important, what it leaves alone. Menu names come from Apple's own support pages, which we link at the end. Apple moves menus between iOS releases, so if a path looks different on your phone, trust your phone and search Settings for the name.

The ten-minute checklist

  1. Photos: review which apps can reach your library.
  2. Hidden album: know what it does and does not do.
  3. Shared albums: check who still subscribes.
  4. Camera: stop saving location in new photos.
  5. Sharing: leave location out when you send a photo.
  6. AirDrop: choose who can send you files.
  7. Tracking: stop apps asking to track you.
  8. App Privacy Report: see what apps actually did.
  9. Hidden apps: hide an app behind Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode, and know the limits.
  10. Stolen Device Protection: protect your accounts if someone knows your passcode.

Settings that expose your photos

1. Check which apps can reach your library

Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Photos. Apple says this shows which apps have access to Photos, and that you can grant or remove permission for any app that has asked. An app only appears on the list after it has asked for permission, so an empty line for an app you have never opened is normal.

When an app asks for your photos, iOS lets you choose specific photos instead of the whole library. Apple's developer documentation describes this as limited library access: the app can fetch only the photos you selected, and you can manage that selection later in Settings. For any app that does not need your whole library, such as a messaging or shopping app, choose the smaller option. Our guide on this explains what an app can still see. Limited Photos Access on iPhone: what it protects

What it does not do: it does not hide anything from the apps you do give access to, and it does not change who can see photos in Apple's own Photos app.

2. Understand the Hidden album

Apple says the Hidden album is locked by default and requires authentication (Face ID or Touch ID on iPhone). Hidden items do not appear anywhere else in Photos, such as the Library or other albums. You can also turn the Hidden album off entirely in Settings > Apps > Photos by switching off Show Hidden Album. If you use iCloud Photos, a photo you hide on one device is hidden on your other devices too.

Hidden is a view setting inside Photos. It is not a separate encrypted store. If you want photos that sit outside your photo library altogether, see our guide to hiding photos. -> /guides/hide-and-lock-photos/hide-photos-on-iphone/ For the short version of the safety question, read Is the Hidden album safe? Is the iPhone Hidden album safe?

3. Review your shared albums

A shared album can be viewed by everyone subscribed to it. On iOS 26 or earlier, open the shared album in Photos, tap More, tap the album name, and you can remove a person with Remove Subscriber, leave the album, or delete it if you created it. Apple notes that deleting a shared album permanently deletes its photos, and that photos a person saved to their own library stay there. Check the list now: old holiday and event albums are where forgotten subscribers live.

Newer iOS versions rename some of these buttons, so follow the labels on your phone.

Settings that expose location

4. Stop the Camera saving location

Apple states that location metadata in photos and videos can be collected only if the Camera app has access to Location Services. To switch it off, open Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Camera and tap Never. New photos will no longer carry where they were taken. Photos you already took keep their location until you change them (next item, and our guide on removing location). How to remove location from photos on iPhone

The cost: Photos can no longer group new pictures by place, and Memories lose that detail. That trade is worth it if you often share photos.

5. Leave location out when you share

Select a photo in Photos, tap the Share button, tap Options, and turn off Location. Apple says "Location Not Included" then appears above the Options button. This changes the copy you send, not the original on your phone. To remove the place from the original, open the photo, tap More, tap Adjust Info, Adjust Location, then No Location.

What it does not do: a photo can carry more than its location, including date and time and the phone model. Our guide on photo metadata covers what the Info panel shows.

Settings that control what reaches you

6. Set AirDrop to Contacts Only

Open Control Center, touch and hold the group of connectivity controls, tap AirDrop and pick a receiving setting. The options Apple names are Contacts Only, Everyone for 10 Minutes and Receiving Off. Everyone for 10 Minutes switches itself back after 10 minutes: to Contacts Only if you are signed in to an Apple Account, to Receiving Off if not. On iOS 26.2 or later, someone not in your contacts has to use an AirDrop code that you read out. Details in our AirDrop guide. AirDrop privacy on iPhone: who can send you files

7. Stop apps asking to track you

Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking and turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track. Apple says that with this off you stop getting tracking prompts, and every app is treated as if you had selected Ask App Not to Track. You can withdraw tracking permission at any time.

8. Turn on the App Privacy Report

In Settings > Privacy & Security, scroll to App Privacy Report and turn it on (iOS 15.2 or later). It shows, for the past seven days, how often apps accessed things like Photos, Camera, Location and Microphone, and which domains apps contacted. It starts empty and only records from the moment you turn it on. Apple adds that having access is not the same as collecting: an app may have access to data without the developer collecting it. Switching the report off clears its data.

Settings that protect the phone

9. Hide an app, and know what hiding is

On the Home Screen, touch and hold the app icon, tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode), then choose Hide and Require Face ID. The app moves to a Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library that needs authentication to open. Apple lists where the name can still turn up: Settings > Apps > Hidden Apps, Settings > Screen Time, Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging and App Store purchase history. Built-in apps cannot be hidden, and the status applies only to that iPhone. This is tidiness, not a lock on what is inside the app. How to hide apps on iPhone and what hiding does

10. Turn on Stolen Device Protection

Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode, enter your passcode, tap Stolen Device Protection and turn it on. It needs iOS 17.3 or later, two-factor authentication on your Apple Account and Find My. Away from familiar places such as home or work, some actions then need Face ID or Touch ID with no passcode fallback, and changing your Apple Account password or passcode adds a one-hour wait. Apple says it must be on before the phone is lost, and that marking a stolen phone as lost is still the step to take first. It protects your accounts; it does not encrypt your photo library.

Lockdown Mode: only for a few people

Apple calls Lockdown Mode an optional, extreme protection for the few people who may be personally targeted by sophisticated digital threats. It is not meant for most users. It blocks most message attachments, some web technologies and wired connections to a locked phone. Our guide explains what it leaves alone. Does Lockdown Mode protect your photos on iPhone?

What these settings cannot do

Every setting above manages access to your library. None of them adds a second lock to the photos themselves. Anyone who unlocks your phone and opens Photos sees what Photos shows. If some photos or documents need more than that, move them out of the library into an app that encrypts them.

When you import into StrongRoom, it shows the system picker and sees only the items you choose each time. Import and scan photos, videos and files

Frequently asked questions

What is the first iPhone privacy setting to change?

Check Settings > Privacy & Security > Photos. It lists which apps have access to your photos, and you can remove access from any app that does not need it.

Does turning off Camera location affect photos I already took?

No. It stops new photos carrying location. For existing photos, open the photo, tap More, Adjust Info, Adjust Location, then No Location.

Is Lockdown Mode something everyone should turn on?

Apple says it is for the few people who may be personally targeted by sophisticated threats and is not intended for most users.

Do these settings encrypt my photos?

No. They control who and what can reach your library. Encryption of the photos themselves needs a separate app or tool.

Do the menus differ between iOS versions?

Yes. This page was checked on 2026-10-30 against Apple's support pages, and some labels change between releases, so use Settings search if a path is missing.

Sources

StrongRoom is a free iPhone app, coming to the App Store.

Free for iPhone. Pro is optional. What Pro changes.

Coming to the App Store. See what version 1.0 includes.