iPhone tips and tricks: 5 smart ways to stop people from snooping on your smartphone

iPhone tips and tricks: Let’s be honest. Nobody likes people snooping around on their smartphones. In fact, they will all detest it. Whether it is sneaky glances from someone sitting beside you, or a friend who loves to look through your device, it is both annoying and potentially dangerous to your data security. The risk just multiplies if you keep any sensitive and confidential information or your financial data on your phone. Staying alert at all times is not easy, and if you use an iPhone, you may not have to. These are 5 smart ways to make sure your device is protected from both bad actors and those pesky people around you. Let us take a look.

1. Hide your photos

The first thing snoopers usually do is go through your Photos app. But your photos may not be meant for everyone to see. So, if you are dealing with those who don’t make it easy for you to put your phone down at all, and you’re considering deleting all such photos, then wait. There is a solution available.

You can hide pictures from appearing in your photo library on your Photos app. It’s an easy fix and will help save your sensitive pictures from being seen. In order to do so, just select the images you want to hide and then tap on the share icon. Scroll down to find the Hide option and select it. That’s it, the images should vanish.

But don’t worry, they are not really gone. You can find them by going to Albums and then scrolling down to find the Hidden folder. And in case you want to hide the folder as well, you can always go to Photo Settings and do that.

2. Delete old screenshots

Screenshots are often taken to be shared with a particular friend or just to save something important and sensitive in nature. Either way, they do not need to be around forever. And often, they can cause uncomfortable moments if they’re discovered by someone you do not want to. Ideally, you should be clearing out your old screenshots on a regular basis. But in case you don’t have the time or are forgetful, here’s an easy hack.

Simply select the option ‘Copy and Delete’ when taking screenshots. It appears in the lower-left corner of the preview menu. Now, no more worrying about what all you have stored in your phone.

3. Remove apps from Home screen

Okay, this one is a basic thing. But many still get confused by it. If you have a lot of apps on your Home screen and some of them are sensitive in nature (be it a dating app or a social media app that no one knows you use) then you can remove them easily. Do note, removing an app does not mean deleting it.

So, just long press that app, and when the options show up, click on ‘Remove app’ and not ‘Delete app’, and it will go away from the Home screen but can still be seen in the App library. You can also bring these apps back later by long pressing an app and selecting ‘Add to Home screen’.

4. Better yet, hide your Home screen

If the number of apps you want to hide is too large for you to individually remove and add them back, then here’s a better trick. Simply move all the apps on a single Home screen, then long press an empty space in the Home screen till the apps begin to jiggle. Then tap on the dots that indicate the number of Home screens and you should see all your Home screens together with an option to remove any of them. Uncheck the one you want and it should not be visible. To bring it back, follow the same steps.

5. And finally, a secret lock screen Face ID can’t unlock

The iPhones (iPhone 8 and above) have a secret lock layer to give you added security. Usually, when your phone is locked, you can simply use the Touch ID or the Face ID to unlock it. But if you are ever in a situation where you are being forced to unlock your device using these biometrics, then there is a quick way to make sure they don’t open your device.

Simply press the Lock button and either of the volume button for two seconds and let the power-off screen come on. Once this screen is on, to unlock your device you have to enter the passcode, and biometric-based unlock is disabled.