Privacy is a massive concern in the smartphone era. Many users are deeply uncomfortable with the idea that social media apps or mobile games might be silently listening to their physical conversations in the background to serve them targeted advertising. While Apple strictly forbids apps from doing this without your permission, it is incredibly easy to accidentally grant that permission by quickly tapping “Allow” when installing a new app.
You cannot turn off the iPhone’s physical microphone entirely (otherwise, you would not be able to make cellular phone calls). However, you have total, granular control over exactly which third-party apps are allowed to access it.
How to Check Which Apps Have Microphone Access
Apple provides a centralized privacy dashboard where you can see a master list of every single app that has requested access to your microphone.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down and tap on Privacy & Security (it has a blue icon with a white hand).
- Tap on Microphone (it has a red icon).
You will now see a list of every app on your phone that is capable of recording audio. Next to each app is a green toggle switch.
- If the toggle is Green, the app can turn on your microphone whenever it is open on your screen.
- If the toggle is Grey, the app is completely blocked from accessing the hardware. If you try to record a voice note in an app with a grey toggle, the app will throw an error and ask you to go back to Settings.
How to Revoke Permissions Safely
You should immediately go down this list and aggressively turn off the toggle switch for any app that has no logical reason to record audio.
- Apps that need the microphone: Zoom, Skype, WhatsApp, Voice Memos, and Shazam. (Leave these Green).
- Apps that do not need the microphone: Solitaire, Calculator, flashlight apps, and most generic shopping apps. (Turn these Grey immediately).
If you turn off the microphone for Instagram or Snapchat, you can still scroll through your feed and watch videos perfectly fine. You simply won’t be able to record your own video stories with sound until you turn the toggle back on.
The Orange Warning Dot (The Anti-Spying Feature)
If you are worried that a malicious app might bypass these settings and turn on your microphone in the background, Apple built a hardware-level warning system directly into the screen.
Look at the very top of your iPhone screen, right next to the battery icon and the Wi-Fi signal bars. If the microphone is currently active and recording your voice, a tiny Orange Dot will instantly appear.
This dot is hardwired into the operating system; no app can hide it. If you are reading an article on a news website or playing a simple puzzle game, and that orange dot suddenly appears at the top of your screen, the app is actively listening to you. You should immediately close the app, go into the Privacy & Security settings, and revoke its microphone access.
(Note: A Green Dot in that exact same location means the camera is active, which also implies the microphone is active if it is recording a video).