THIS iPhone feature to track apps accessing personal info: Here’s how to use

New Delhi: Apple has begun to distribute the App Privacy Report, which is intended to assist customers understand an app's privacy practices before downloading it. The feature, when combined with Apple App Store labelling and LED indications (for front camera and microphone access), intends to inform consumers about which apps are gathering personal data. With the release of iOS 15.2, which began rolling out earlier this month, iPhone and iPad owners may now access the App Privacy Report feature. "This is a fantastic time to analyse your app's sensor, data, and internet usage," Apple explains.

It means that iPhone 6s and later users can access the App Privacy Report from the Settings app. Go to Settings > Privacy > App Privacy Report > Turn On App Privacy Report to enable the feature.

Users will have to identify all of the data that third-party partners acquire, according to Apple. It's possible to do so using the App Store labels, which have been available since last year. Users will have to double-check whether the developer has exposed the obtained data this way. "You're responsible for keeping your responses correct and up to date," Apple states to developers. Update your responses in App Store Connect if your practises change."

Users will be able to examine any app's recent data once you enable App Privacy Report. In my situation, WhatsApp was the last programme I used, and it used my microphone, contacts, photographs, and camera. In that instance, accessing these regions is already disclosed in the WhatsApp app on the App Store. Users can also see an App Network Activity when the App Privacy Report is enabled, which reveals how many (and whose) websites an app accessed. Users may verify which apps accessed a domain under the Most Contacted Domains section.

Go to Settings and select Privacy if you wish to turn off the App Privacy Report. Scroll down and hit App Privacy Report, then at the bottom, tap Turn Off App Privacy Report.