If you’ve suddenly noticed a small orange or green dot appearing on your Apple iPhone you might be wondering what it means. This new feature has just been added in Apple’s new iOS 14 update and it’s an important upgrade as it shows whether an app has accessed your camera or microphone.
Of course, there’s plenty of applications, such as video chat apps, that may need permission to use the camera and mic but Apple has included the light system so users can keep an eye on what all applications are up to in the background.
Once you spot the dot you can then instantly see exactly which app has accessed these features on your phone via the Control Centre.
Explaining more about this function, Apple said: “Privacy is a fundamental human right and at the core of everything we do. That’s why with iOS 14, we’re giving you more control over the data you share and more transparency into how it’s used.
“An indicator appears at the top of your screen whenever an app is using your microphone or camera. And in Control Center, you can see if an app has used them recently.”
With so many people concerned about privacy this is a simple way of checking exactly what is happening on the device and it should make things much more transparent for iPhone users.
READ MORE: Apple iPad 2020 review: A small change that makes a big difference
There’s also the App Library. This upgrade automatically organises all of your apps into one simple, easy-to-navigate view, and even intelligently surfaces apps that may be helpful at the right moment.
Other changes include improved messaging, better browsing in Safari and a picture-in-picture mode so you can keep watching videos or continue your FaceTime call while you use another app.
“Together with iPhone, iOS is central to how we navigate our lives and stay connected, and we are making it even more powerful and easier to use in iOS 14, with the biggest update ever to the Home Screen,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “We are thrilled to see the incredible ways developers are taking advantage of widgets and App Clips to create new experiences that we think customers are going to love.”