With the release of iOS 15, you now have the ability to see what data your apps are accessing by recording your iPhone app activity and digging into the App Activity Report.
Why Should You Record App Activity on Your iPhone?
It’s no secret that developers collect and use our data to better understand who’s using their app and what they’re using it for. With those insights, these companies can better tailor their ads and experiences to boost profits.
For many smartphone users, this fact feels uncomfortable and a bit like they’re being spied on. Luckily, by recording app activity, you can see what data your apps are accessing and make changes to protect your information.
For example, if you find that one of your apps is collecting more data than you’re comfortable with, you can delete it and try an alternative. Or, you can pinpoint the apps with too many iPhone or iPad permissions and reset those permissions to better fit your needs.
Who Has Access to the App Activity Feature?
To access your app activity, you’ll need iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2, or watchOS 8.3, or later. If you’re unable to follow the steps below, ensure your device is updated with the latest software.
How to Record App Activity on Your iPhone
To start recording app activity on your iPhone, you’ll need to enable it inside your settings. First, open the Settings app and then follow these steps:
Select Privacy from within the Settings. Scroll all the way to the bottom and select Record App Activity. Toggle on the Record App Activity feature.
How to Access and Read the App Activity Report
Your device will begin to track your app activity as soon as you turn on the feature. You can then see your app activity data in the App Activity Report, which we’ll explain how to access below.
The App Activity Report gives you an overview of which apps have accessed data such as your location or microphone over a seven-day period.
The App Activity Report will also tell you when apps, or websites you visit within apps, contact domains. When using an app, it’s common for information to be shared with third-party domains such as other websites or even trackers.
Using the report, you can gain the insights you need to make better decisions to protect your privacy.
Downloading the App Activity Report
To download the App Activity Report, go back into the Settings and select Privacy > Record App Activity > Save App Activity.
Now, choose what you wish to do with the App Activity Report. The report is in NDJSON format, which can be opened with any text editor. You’ll probably need to send it to a computer for this, though.
For example, you can AirDrop the file to your Mac (if you have one) and open the file in TextEdit. Or, you can email the file to yourself and open it using Notepad on a Windows PC.
Reading the App Activity Report
When you first open the report, you’ll be met with a crazy amount of numbers and terms. Although it might look a bit overwhelming at first, all you need to know is what to look for.
Here are some key terms:
Accessor: Whenever you see this term in the report, an app accessed your data. Network Activity: Whenever you see this term in the report, an app connected to a specific domain (like the ones mentioned earlier).
When looking at accessors, there are certain categories you’ll see in the entry. These categories show what the app accessed and will even provide a timestamp of when the access happened.
The categories and resources, listed on the Apple website, include:
Camera: Your device’s camera Contacts: Your contacts Location: Your location data Media library: Your media files, like music, podcasts, and movies Microphone: Your device’s microphone Photos: Your photo library Screen recording: Your screenshots and recordings
Let’s take a look at some examples.
As you can see here, the accessor was Avanio Labs (a photo editing app) and the app accessed the user’s photo library.
This is an example of an access that makes sense. Photo editors must access the photo library of your device to function properly.
In this example, the accessor was Walmart and the app accessed the user’s location data.
Again, this makes sense if Walmart was looking for nearby stores.
In this example, you can see that the website Zola.com made a connection to Google.com via Facebook Messenger. This particular user opened an online Zola wedding invite by clicking on the link inside Facebook Messenger.
For network activity, you can see a variety of information about apps that connect to other domains. For example, you’ll see the domain as well as the time of the connection (first time stamp), the website that made the connection (context), and more.
Finally, in this example, we see that the Calm app made a connection to stats.g.doubleclick.net which is a Google cookie used to collect user data.
What Do You Do After Reading the Report?
If, while looking at your report, you see that network connections are being made that you don’t recognize, it might be time to delete that app and look for an alternative you can better trust.
You should also ensure your apps aren’t accessing resources they shouldn’t. If so, it’s time to change your app permissions to avoid access in the future.
If you want more information about how an app is collecting or using your data, be sure to read the app’s privacy policy.
Although it’s normal for us to simply accept the agreement and move on, that’s a surefire way to hand over data without even realizing it.
Apple Empowers You to Take Your iPhone Safety Seriously
Although we still have a long way to go to for true data transparency and privacy, this iOS feature is a step in the right direction.
Remember: To best ensure your privacy, learn what apps you’re using and what data they’re accessing. Finally, do a periodic check-in with your app permissions to ensure your apps are only accessing what you want them to.
