At this point in the world, it’s a world where almost everything is shared as default. We post location for convenience on Find My; partner-based photo albums; streaming services passwords, and so many more. But relationships go a different way, and sometimes they can become something we want to stop caring about as soon as we can.
Safety Check is a quick solution to this problem, which means that you can immediately cancel access to your data, stop sharing your location and reset privacy permissions for all apps and people in one go.
What Is Safety Check (And When You Need It)?
The section **Safety Check is a special area of your iPhone’s settings designed specifically for people whose personal safety is at risk. Safety Check is designed to protect you from people, especially those who may have had access to your device and passcodes – unlike the usual privacy settings that are usually used to manage data for advertising or app functionality. ****
This is a good feature when you are leaving if you have to make sure your ex doesn’t know where you were. When you’ve shared your Apple ID password with someone, use this to lock them out immediately.
The most helpful thing about Safety Check is that it organizes every sharing permission on your phone into one dashboard, so you don’t have to remember if you shared your Location or your *******Health** data; it stops all of the information.
How to Use Emergency Reset for Immediate Protection
The Emergency Reset system assuming all is compromised and resets every permission to share with their safest, most private state. For s to activate it, open Settings and turn on ** Setting’s***.
Scroll down and tap Privacy & Security. Then scroll down to find Safety Check and tap Emergency Reset.
You will see a screen explaining what this will do. Then, tap Start Emergency Reset.
It doesn’t erase your personal data (such as photos, contacts, apps) unlike a factory reset. Instead, it targets any sharing opportunities.
These include disable location sharing with all people on Find My. Furthermore, it deletes all apps permissions for your Camero, Microphone and Location as well with Bluetooth.
After that it resets your privacy settings for Photos, **Contacts*** and **Calendars*. Lastly, it allows you to remove your Apple ID from all other devices that the other person may have access to.
Using Manage Sharing & Access for a Controlled Setting
Should I use the Manage Sharing & Access option instead of “the most immediate threat” (or after a breakup or just for peace of mind)? A slower process is that you can see who has access to what, so you remove certain people and keep others connected.
Review People
If you have a list of people with whom you are sharing data, the first screen will show you. To see what a person can see, tap on the name of that person to see it. If you’re surprised to hear that they have access to things such as Health or Shared Notes, you might think.
If you want to stop sharing, select the data points and tap Stop Sharing. If you’ll be asked, “The first step is complete” the way you start.
Review Apps
Your installed apps are then replaced by the second phase of . Safety Check will list all apps that have access to your Location, Microphone and Bluetooth**********Photos (Health), **Contacts* & **Camera****. For example, if you see an app that you don’t recognize or an application which doesn’t have those permissions, then immediately remove access is granted.
The app is not deep in your system, so if you suspect it’s malicious, then you should learn how to follow and detect unauthorised remote access. ** ** .
Account Security
The final stage is centered on your account security. Here you double-check your Emergency Contacts. If you have previously made a partner or family member an emergency contact, they will be alerted if you ever use the Emergency SOS feature by holding the side buttons or unless Crash Detection triggers. If you are stalking someone, you do not want your abuser to know where you’re when you call 911.
Your current Emergency Contacts are listed on the screen. Press the red minus (-) button next to any contact you want to remove from your . Tap Delete to confirm that someone is paraphrasing, or “I’m sure”? Once only people you trust are on the list, tap Continue.
Use the Quick Exit Button To Protect Yourself in the Moment
The most important part of this menu is the Quick Exit button, which is a key component of the Menu. Apple understands that if you are in an unsafe environment, you’ll be interrupted when using your phone. What is the best way to hide what you are doing instantly if someone walks into the room while you’re changing these settings?
To find it, check the top right corner of every screen within the Safety Check menu, and you’ll see it.
Once the app is on Quick Exit, it saves everything you have done so far and immediately closes the Settings app (back to your Home Screen) after taping in.
It will look like you were watching at your Home Screen, to an observer it is just as if you are looking at the . You can put your physical safety first, and not lose the progress you’ve made.
Note: It is still visible in Screen Time that you were in your Settings for however long you spend there.
What Happens After a Reset?
Fears most commonly associated with are that the other person will receive a notification that you stopped sharing. When you contact the other person, Apple does not notify them that they have ceased to share their location with your .
But it is not clear if there is data for . A person looking at the app Find My will simply disappear your dot or show **Location Not Available*** if they look at their do’s. s try to access a shared photo album, which will disappear from their library. No notification is provided, but a stalker will eventually notice that the access has been lost.
And if you used Emergency Reset, you will lose control of shared Home devices such as smart locks and cameras. The administrator may ask you to invite you back, or if you are the owner, you can set them up again so that the other person is locked out.
What Safety Check Doesn’t Protect
Safety Check is powerful, but it does not protect against all surveillance. Only Apple’s native ecosystem permissions are governed by its own .
It cannot stop your mobile carrier from tracking your phone’s location via cell towers.
*****Safety Check** will not disable the location when you post it via WhatsApp Live Location, Snap Map or Google Maps Location Sharing. All of those apps are required to be open by yourself if you want to quit sharing with them.
Also note that Safety Check is a software-based program, and should be noted. In your bag or car, it does not detect trackers hidden in the tracker’s tracks and doesn’t see if you have tracked them. I know how to setup and use Find My to scan for unknown AirTags moving with you.
Security Things You Should Do Post-Reset
Change Your Apple ID Password
Someone knows your passcode, so if they know their Apple ID password, they probably know your AppleID password. Safety Check asks you to change this but if you skip it, is it the same now? This prevents s from simply logging back into your account to a browser.
Turn on Stolen Device Protection
The Stolen Device Protection was an added feature to iOS, which is a part of the OS’s newer version. For important security actions, such as changing your Apple ID password or viewing saved usernames, this requires Face ID for these steps when your iPhone is away from a familiar location like your home.
This is because if an abuser knows your passcode, they theoretically could reverse your Safety Check work. Read our guide on how to disable Stolen Device Protection if you have this setting in mind later.
Check for Trusted Devices
Scroll down to Settings ******** Your Name and go to the bottom of this . Search for devices, and if you see any device that you do not control, delete it immediately. A trusted device sometimes acts as backdoor to receive your 2FA codes even if you change your password.
After learning about Emergency Reset and***Quick Exit* you make sure that if you ever have to remove the access some people may have, you can do it in seconds.
Thanks for reading Use iPhone Safety Check to Stop Someone From Tracking You
