Stop Apps From Stalking You — 3 iPhone Settings to Change Right Now
Every app on your iPhone can track you across the internet. Here are 3 settings you can change in under 4 minutes to shut it down — no technical knowledge required.
Stop Apps From Stalking You — 3 iPhone Settings to Change Right Now
Time: about 4 minutes
Every app on your phone can ask to follow you around the internet — watching what you do in other apps, what websites you visit, and what you buy. Most people tap "Allow" without thinking. This chapter shuts that down.
Action 1: Kill App Tracking Globally
Open: Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking
Turn OFF OFF OFF "Allow Apps to Request to Track."
That's it. One toggle.
What you just did
Every app that wants to track you across other apps and websites has to ask permission first. But app developers are good at designing those permission pop-ups to pressure you into saying yes.
By turning this off, the pop-up never appears. Instead, every app is automatically told "no." Behind the scenes, your phone gives each app a fake, blank tracking ID instead of your real one — so even if the app tries to track you anyway, it gets nothing useful.
This doesn't stop apps from working. It stops them from following you around after you close them.
→ For the technical details on how the IDFA tracking system works, see the full guide.
Action 2: Turn Off Apple's Own Ad Tracking
Open: Settings → Privacy & Security → Apple Advertising
Turn OFF OFF OFF "Personalized Ads."
What you just did
Apple runs its own small advertising network inside the App Store, Apple News, and Stocks. When Personalized Ads is on, Apple uses your purchase history, what you read, and your account information to decide which ads to show you.
Turning this off doesn't remove ads — you'll still see them in the App Store. But now they're based on what you're currently searching for, not a profile Apple has built about you over time.
Action 3: Turn On the App Privacy Report
Open: Settings → Privacy & Security → App Privacy Report
Turn ON ON ON "App Privacy Report."
What you just did
Your phone will now keep a 7-day log of exactly which apps accessed your camera, microphone, location, and contacts — and which internet domains those apps contacted in the background.
You don't need to check this every day. But it's your evidence locker. If you ever wonder whether a flashlight app is secretly calling home to an advertising server in another country, this is where you'll find out.
Check it once a week. If an app is contacting domains labeled "Advertising" or "Analytics" that seem unrelated to what the app does, that's a signal to delete it.
You Just Took Back Control
Time spent: ~4 minutes
You just cut off the primary way apps track you across the internet. From this moment, your phone returns a blank ID to every app that asks to follow you. Apple's own ad profile on you is no longer being built. And your phone is now logging exactly what every app does behind your back.
But this is just the beginning. Your location data, browser history, passwords, and AI features all need attention too.