The iPhone privacy setting you need to turn off


Join Fox News for access to this content

Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account – free of charge.

Please enter a valid email address.

By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive. To access the content, check your email and follow the instructions provided.

Having trouble? Click here.

Your iPhone is a powerful device that can store and share your personal information, photos, videos and more. 

But did you know that it can also share things with others nearby that you may not want them to see?

Apple’s new Journal app, which helps you reflect on your everyday moments and special events, uses on-device machine learning to create personalized suggestions for your journal entries. 

However, some of these suggestions may include sensitive or private data that you would rather keep to yourself.

CLICK TO GET KURT’S FREE CYBERGUY NEWSLETTER WITH SECURITY ALERTS, QUICK VIDEO TIPS, TECH REVIEWS AND EASY HOW-TO’S TO MAKE YOU SMARTER

journal app privacy 1

The Journal app on an iPhone (Apple)

Why should you care?

Imagine this: every photo you take, every note you jot down, potentially being accessible to someone nearby with an iPhone. Intriguing? Perhaps. Concerning? Definitely. The Journal app can share things that you may want to keep private with others nearby. 

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, IPHONE SHORTCUT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE

It’s a feature intended to enhance user experience by suggesting content based on location and activity data, but it may overshare your personal information. So, how do you change the privacy settings of the Journal app and turn off the features that may expose your information to others? Follow along with me, and I’ll show you how to stop it.

JOURNAL app privacy 2

The Journal app (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

MORE: BEST PORTABLE PHONE CHARGERS OF 2024

How to safeguard your privacy on your iPhone

Let’s walk through the steps to ensure your Journal entries and photos remain for your eyes only.

  • First, swipe down at the top of your phone and type Settings.
  • Tap Settings and then scroll down until you find Privacy and Security and tap it.
  • Scroll down again until you get to Journaling Suggestions and click on it.
  • Then switch off Discoverable by others.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

journal app privacy 3

Steps to safeguard your privacy on iPhone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

MORE: BEST ACCESSORIES FOR YOUR PHONE

What does this mean for you?

When you turn off “discoverable by others,” you prevent the journal app from sending your location and activity data to other iPhone users who are near you. This means that they won’t see your journal entries or photos as suggestions on their app. It also means that you won’t see theirs. This can help you protect your privacy and avoid unwanted sharing of your personal information.

MORE: BEST VPNS FOR BROWSING HTE WEB PRIVATELY

journal app privacy 4

Turn off Discoverable by Others on iPhone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

MORE: APPLE CRACKS DOWN ON IPHONE THIEVES WITH NEW SECURITY SETTINGS

Kurt’s key takeaways

Your iPhone can store and share your data, but it can also reveal it to others nearby. Apple’s Journal app uses machine learning to suggest journal entries, but some may be private or sensitive. To protect your privacy, change the Journal app settings and turn off the features that may show your data to others. Your iPhone and your data are yours. Don’t let others see what you don’t want them to see.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

How do you feel about the Journal app’s feature that shares your data with nearby iPhone users? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

For more of my tech tips & security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.

Ask Kurt a question or let us know what stories you’d like us to cover.

Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:

Copyright 2024 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.