What does the green dot iPhone iOS14 mean?

Did you get concerned after finding a green dot iPhone appearing on your screen? Do a green or orange indicator appears on the notifications bar after the iOS 14 update? Have no worries it is a security feature added to your iPhone by Apple. Click to see find out more about the security dots.

Apple takes security very seriously; it is one of the most well-known factors for which Apple is respected in the market. Apple prioritizes its security above all functions, it encrypts your data and messages. It does not save your searches of Safari on Apple servers. Privacy is a mandate in Apple products.

This secure atmosphere causes tech freaks to not get modified applications that are approved by Apple that easily. Many of these mod applications that are available on Android don’t even exist on iOS, they may serve some additional features but they can also steal or use your data without your permission.

Apple does not allow this type of behavior and actively works on stopping this kind of application. One of the most brilliant steps that Apple has taken in its recent updates is the inclusion of security dots or indicators. You must have found these if your device is updated to iOS 14 or above. These are small dots of green or orange color appearing in the notification bar near the battery percentage. What are these you ask? Well, let us answer your questions regarding this topic.

green dot iPhone
What does the green dot iPhone iOS14 mean

What is a security dot or indicator?

In Apple’s iOS 14 update, many apps were visually enhanced. Some were functionally overwritten and made better, and some got security updates. In this update, a brand-new feature called the security dot was introduced. It appears on the notification tab of your iPhone, besides the battery percentage. It acts as an indicator of sorts which shows when any application whether it is native or third-party software uses data feeding hardware.

In simple words, when any software inside your iPhone uses either the camera or microphone, it lights up to show you that they are in use. This feature is physically present in MacBook and iMacs, a LED light is present near the webcam of your Macs which turns green when you are using the webcam. Do not mistake their presence with network usage and connectivity issues, they are a strict tool that may inevitably make your iPhone a more secure device. So let us check out what these security dots or indicators mean in different colors.

What does the green light mean on iPhone?

When your green security dot appears on the notification tab of your iPhone, besides the battery percentage, it simply means that some application whether it is native or third-party software is using the iPhone’s camera. One important thing to note is that whenever an application uses a camera it automatically uses the iPhone’s microphone. Therefore, you will not get two separate security indicators or dots for the microphone and camera being used simultaneously.

See also  iPhone not ringing: Fix iPhone 6 and above ringer not working

Green Light just indicates that some application was or is currently using the camera of the iPhone, it does not indicate or justify what the application was doing with your data. It can be that the application is using your transferring your data or using it for any other malicious intent or maybe it is using the camera just because you were using it.

If you see the green dot in the notifications bar, and you are not using any application or doing anything related to the camera, it means some application is using the camera of your iPhone secretly in the background. As soon as you find yourself in this situation you should do the following steps given below to make sure that your device is safe and secure, and your data is protected.

How to fix green dot iPhone issue?

You need to fix the issue of the green dot iPhone indication (an app is using the camera without your permission). So, the green light security indicator or security dot is now showing on your notifications tab beside your battery percentage and you are not using any application that uses the camera. Your data may be being stolen or transferred to another location so you should get alert by this and take precautions. These are the steps that you should immediately do:

Steps:

1)  Shutting down your internet.

The first task that you should do immediately is to shut down your internet. It is a strong possibility that your data is being taken to another location via the internet because of the use of third-party applications. To resecure your data, you should immediately go to your control center and turn off your mobile network or Wi-Fi network button. This should at least let your data be not be transferred to another device or location.

2) Finding the Culprit

Now that we have resecured our data, we need to find the application that was using the camera and microphone. You may ask how will you find the application that was using the camera, there is a load of applications on my device, how will I find it? Have no worries, you will have to use Apple’s Control Center to find out the culprit application.

To find out the culprit, swipe down the control center from your notifications bar (or swipe up according to your iPhone) and see the message that is shown in the recent section. It is located at the topmost part of the control center and is accompanied by the name of the Application which was using the Camera. For Example, if Instagram was using your camera app without your permission you will find it named in the recent sections it will be shown as “(Green circle with a camera icon) Instagram, recently”. Now we know that Instagram is using the camera.

See also  Alarm On iPhone- Best way To Set, Remove, Organize

3) Taking Actions

Now that you know your culprit, there are a bunch of different steps that you can take, the easiest step you can do if you are afraid of your data is to simply uninstall or delete the application from your iPhone. It will finish the problem once and for all.

But if you want to keep the application then you can change the permission of the application to not be able to use the camera again. To do that you will have to go to the Settings > Privacy > Camera and close off the toggle of the application you do not want to be able to access the camera. If you keep getting this problem you can report the application in Apple’s forum.

What does the orange light mean on iPhone?

When your orange security dot appears on the notification tab of your iPhone, besides the battery percentage, it simply means that some application whether it is native or third-party software is using the iPhone’s microphone.

Orange Light just indicates that some application was or is currently using the camera of the iPhone, it does not indicate or justify what the application was doing with your data. It can be that the application is using your transferring your data or using it for any other malicious intent or maybe it is using the microphone just because you were using it.

If you see the orange light in the notifications bar, and you are not using any application or doing anything related to the microphone, it means some application is using the microphone of your iPhone secretly in the background. As soon as you find yourself in this situation you should do the following steps given below to make sure that your device is safe and secure, and your data is protected.

What to do if an app is using the microphone without your permission?

So, the orange light security indicator or security dot is now showing on your notifications tab beside your battery percentage and you are not using any application that uses the microphone. Your data may be being stolen or transferred to another location so you should get alert by this and take precautions. These are the steps that you should immediately do:

Steps:

1)  Closing down your internet

Immediately, the first task that you should do immediately is to shut down your internet. There is a strong possibility that your data is being taken to another location via the internet because of the use of third-party applications. You have to resecure your data; you should immediately go to your control center and turn off your mobile network or Wi-Fi network button. Which makes at least your data not be transferred to another device or location.

2) To find the Culprit

Now that we have resecured our data, we need to find the application that was using the microphone. You may ask how will you find the application that was using the microphone, there is a load of applications on my device, how will I find it? Have no worries, you will have to use Apple’s Control Center to find out the culprit application.

See also  SIM card not working iPhone

To find out the culprit, swipe down the control center from your notifications bar (or swipe up according to your iPhone) and see the message that is shown in the recent section. It is located at the topmost part of the control center and is accompanied by the name of the Application which was using the microphone. For Example, if Telegram was using your microphone app without your permission you will find it named in the recent sections it will be shown as “(Orange circle with a microphone icon) Telegram, recently”. Now we know that Telegram is using the microphone.

3) Taking Actions on the app

Once you find culprit, there are a bunch of different steps that you can take, the easiest step you can do if you are afraid of your data is to simply uninstall or delete the application from your iPhone. This should finish the problem once and for all.

But if you want to keep the application then you can change the permission of the application to not be able to use the microphone again. To do that you will have to go to the Settings > Privacy > microphone and close off the toggle of the application you do not want to be able to access the microphone. If you keep getting this problem you can report the application in Apple’s forum.

Conclusion

In the coming days, it is the sad truth that many hackers will try to use our data for malicious intent. Apple is trying to maintain its robust security but we as users must also be aware of how we can protect our own data. At last, I hope I was able to clarify all your problems related to the security indicators or dots on your iPhone.

If you have any more underlying questions, feel free to check out the Frequently asked questions (FAQ) that are given below.

FAQs

How to stop the iPhone security indicators?

The iPhone security indicators stop naturally when the camera or microphone is not being used. If you want to manually disable the indicators there is no function provided by Apple to do so.

Is the iPhone security indicator helpful in iOS 14?

Yes, it is incredibly helpful as a keen security tool. In July of 2021, it was seen that Instagram was using the camera app without the user’s permission and it was found out by using this feature. Instagram was sued shortly after with which it replied that it was a natural bug nothing else. If it was a bug or not is known only by Meta itself. In short, it is a very useful indicator for the safety of your data.

error: Alert: Content is protected !!