Have you ever noticed an orange dot blinking on your iPhone display? If Yes, then you are not alone. But what does this orange dot mean?
iPhone devices have several unique features we often aren’t aware of. The orange indicator is one of them. It is an iOS 14 privacy and security feature to notify you about different apps using your iPhone’s microphone.
For instance, when you call or record audio, the orange dot appears to signify microphone usage. However, this can be problematic if the orange indicator light is still present when your microphone is not in use.
Let’s find out why the iPhone orange dot appears and how you can turn it off.
Table of Contents
What Does the Orange Dot on Your iPhone Mean?
The latest tech news delivered by Apple iPhone featured an orange and green dot occasionally appearing on the screen’s top right corner. These dots can be called indicator lights. You can identify them as a tiny dot above your battery status bar and cellular bars.
The orange dot means that an iPhone application is currently using your microphone. It can also indicate whether or not an app is using your device’s microphone with consent.
For instance, if an app uses the microphone without permission, the orange dot can help you identify and uninstall spyware applications.
The Apple feature lets you control your safety and privacy alerts by informing you whenever your microphone is active.
What Apps Can Use iPhone Microphone?
Several apps require permission for microphone usage. Social media apps like Instagram, Whatsapp, and Voice Memo are common apps that can use your iPhone’s microphone.
Additionally, you can notice the orange dot appearing on your screen when making phone calls and using Siri or voice-to-text features.
How to Disable the Orange Light Dot Feature?
There is no way you can disable the iPhone orange dot. The indicator light and similar features are a part of the newest iPhone iOS updates for prioritizing user privacy. When your microphone is active, the dot will appear automatically.
However, there is one way you can get rid of it.
If you notice the orange indicator light constantly appearing on the screen, you can check if microphone-enabled apps are running in the background.
To close these apps, follow these steps:
For iPhone 8 or older
You can use these instructions to shut all your apps in one go:
- First, double-tap your iPhone Home button.
- Next, swipe your screen to the left side.
- Finally, when you see the list of recently used apps, swipe all apps up to exit them.
For iPhone X or Newer
You can follow these steps to force apps to close on an iPhone X:
- First, swipe up slowly from your screen’s button until you see your recently opened apps.
- Swipe your apps up to close them.
Once you’ve closed your running apps, the orange dot should disappear. However, if it doesn’t, you can follow these methods:
Inspect Your Headphones
If you wear headphones, they can automatically access your iPhone’s microphone. Thus, you’ll notice the orange dot. If you wish to disable your microphone, here’s what you can do:
- Unplug your wired headphones.
- Turn off your AirPods or other Bluetooth headphones.
Restart Your iPhone
Your iPhone can often run into software issues. As a result, you may see the orange dot above your battery status bar. To fix this issue, restart your device and check if the light is still present.
What is the iPhone Green Dot?
You can often notice a green dot appears in the same spot on the iPhone screen as the orange dot. But what does it mean?
When an app uses your phone’s camera, the green indicator light will appear to alert you. You can also notice this light if an application simultaneously accesses your phone’s microphone or camera.
For instance, when you use your iPhone’s camera app to click a selfie or Facetime call your partner, the green dot will appear.
Are the Green or Orange Dot Same?
The Green indicator light performs the same job as the orange light since it alerts you about your phone’s camera usage.
However, you cannot simultaneously see the orange and green indicator lights since apps with your phone’s microphone and camera access will only display the green dot.
These iPhone interface features can keep you aware of your security and privacy. Additionally, they allow you more control over which applications can use your iPhone functions.
Let’s say you installed a new application that shows the green dot without asking for microphone or camera use permission. Such an app can be spyware. Thus, you can uninstall it immediately.
How to Know Which Apps Use Your Mic When Orange Dot Appears?
If you use multiple apps on your iPhone, you may have difficulty getting which app uses your microphone. But don’t worry.
There’s a better alternative to determine which apps can not use these features. Here, have a look:
Control Center
You can access the iPhone control center by swiping down from the upper right corner of your screen. Doing so will allow you to check your feature permissions.
For instance, the recently used apps in this list with accessibility permission will display the camera or microphone icon next to them.
iPhone Settings
You can use iPhone settings to determine which app uses a camera or microphone. Here’s how:
- Navigate to the Settings menu.
- Choose Privacy.
- Select the option for a Microphone.
- Check the list of applications with green switches. These apps have permission to access your camera and microphone.
- If you wish to keep some apps from using your iPhone’s microphone or camera, you can toggle off the switches for such apps.
How to Disable Microphone Access for Siri?
iPhone AI assistant Siri has constant access to your microphone. However, if you wish to disable the feature for Siri function, you can follow these steps:
- Navigate to iPhone settings.
- Select the option “Siri & Search.”
- Adjust the configurations as you like.
Can Android Devices Notify You About Camera Access?
Unfortunately, Most Android devices cannot alert you when the mic or camera is recording. However, you can find it out yourself.
For this purpose, you can install a handy app with privacy features like iOS 14. For example, the free app can ask permission to use a microphone and camera.
Additionally, they will display an icon in the top right corner of the screen. You can also use the app to select indicator colors for icons per your preference.
How To adjust app permissions for Android?
You May close all background running apps to keep your microphone and camera from being used. For this purpose, follow these steps:
- First, swipe the screen up from the bottom.
- Next, swipe your screen to the left side.
- Press Clear All.
Once done, you can check your application permissions. Follow this guide:
- Navigate to the Settings.
- Scroll down your screen.
- Use the option for Personal.
- Go to App Permissions.
- Click On Privacy and Safety.
- Select Camera or Microphone.
- Select an app you wish to disable the iPhone’s camera or mic for.
- Toggle the option off.
The iPhone iOS 14 offers several privacy features. Android 11 is also upgrading its security game. For example, the latest Android updates can give you more control if an app uses a mic or camera without consent.
FAQs
Which iOS Update Can Show Orange and Green Lights?
Orange and green light indicators are a part of the Apple iOS 14 update. You can see these dots on your iPhone Screen only if it runs iOS 14 or other latest versions.
Additionally, Your device should be compatible with the display of these dots. For instance, the light can appear on iPhone 11, 12, 13 series, or newer devices.
Can You Disable the Orange or Green Dots on iPhone?
No. You can not disable the indicator light. That’s because no physical option exists to toggle on or off your device’s green or orange dot. You can see this as part of a security feature to alert you about microphone and camera usage. However, if you disable mic and camera permissions for some apps, these dots will stop appearing on your screen.
How Do the Orange and Green Light Indicators Improve Your Privacy?
As previously mentioned, the orange and green lights can signify microphone and camera access by specific applications. So, if an app tries to record your audio or video secretly, your iPhone device can notify you immediately. In addition, you can identify such apps as spyware and uninstall them to protect your data.
Final Thoughts
The orange dot privacy features help identify apps using your iPhone’s microphone. The indicator light only appears when the application activates the iPhone microphone. Similarly, the iPhone green dot can alert you about the camera using apps.
Although you cannot disable the feature, you can remove them by changing app permissions.
Android devices also offer similar features. You can also adjust your application permissions from the Android phone settings menu.
