Apple’s iPhone Users Are Justifiably Concerned By The New Meaning Of The Orange Dot On Their Screens

If it doesn’t work, turn off the phone. If the orange dot is still there when you turn it back on, you should start to worry.

Even though there are some concerns, wouldn’t it be preferable to have some sort of visual cue when an app on your phone is utilizing the microphone or camera rather than none at all?

To be clear, if you see an orange dot at the top of your phone screen, it indicates that one of the apps on your iPhone is currently using the microphone, which means it is recording your voice.

The presence of a green dot at the same location on the screen indicates that the app is using the phone’s camera rather than the microphone.

For instance, my phone’s screen displays a green dot when I pick it up and use the camera, and it briefly turns orange before shutting off completely when I close an app.

In essence, that’s my phone alerting me that the lens and microphone are in use since I’m using it as a camera. That’s pretty clear, but you should also be aware of the other apps you have open.

Go into your settings and adjust the permissions that different apps have to use your camera and microphone if you’re concerned about the dot showing up.