These iPhone warnings can indicate that something is wrong with an app.
Notice a colored dot in the top corner of the iPhone. Photo: Apple.
What do the colored dots mean?
There are three main dots or icons on the Apple status bar that you need to look out for.
First of all orange – although to you it looks like yellow. If you see an orange dot, it means your microphone is in use.
Then there is the green dot, the same size and shape as the orange dot. When a green dot appears, an app is using your camera. For example, it won’t appear because you have Instagram open. It only shows up if Instagram starts looking at you through the camera.
Finally, there’s the blue dot with an arrow inside. The arrow points up and to the right, and has been around on iPhones since iOS 15 was released in 2021. It’s always grayed out if an app or website is using location services. But it will turn blue if the app you use is trying to access your location.
There’s also another blue dot that appears next to apps on the Home Screen. This means the app has been recently upgraded – and nothing to worry about.
When should you worry about the dots on your iPhone?
Most of the time when you see one of these dots, it’s not a problem at all. A lot of apps will need to access some of the sensitive parts of the phone.
Creating a Tiktok video will usually require camera access, you will need to use a microphone to make a Whatsapp call, and of course using Uber requires location. The problem is when those apps use permissions in questionable ways. If the application is a computer that needs to use the camera, that is a warning of danger.
If you go to the Control Center on your iPhone, you can check the dot icon at the top to see which apps are using the microphone, camera, or location.
You can also go to Settings and turn on App Privacy Report to see a log of which apps are using sensitive “permissions” – and when.
