The Academic Data Miner
Apple occasionally partners with universities and medical institutions to conduct “Health Research Studies.” If you download a research app and opt into a study, iOS utilizes a dedicated background API called “Sensor & Usage Data.” This API allows the research application to passively harvest incredibly deep, continuous data from your iPhone’s pedometer, keyboard typing metrics, and ambient light sensors to build a comprehensive behavioral profile. If you have completely finished participating in a study, or if you simply refuse to allow any academic or corporate entity to passively mine your physical telemetry, you must permanently disable this tracking vector.
How to Turn Off Sensor & Usage Data
You can permanently lock down the research API via the Privacy settings.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down and tap on Privacy & Security.
- Scroll down the main list and tap on Research Sensor & Usage Data.
- Locate the master toggle switch labeled Sensor & Usage Data Collection.
- Toggle this switch to the Off position (the green background will disappear).
Telemetry Lockdown
The change is instantaneous. The iPhone will completely terminate the background daemon responsible for feeding your hardware sensor data into the research API. Even if a previously installed research application attempts to request your typing metrics or walking speed, the operating system will violently block the request at the kernel level, ensuring your physical interactions with your device remain completely private and un-monitored.