Apple collects diagnostic and usage data on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, as well as other Apple products. This data contains information on everything from the operating system version to crash reports and more. Some users find this level of data collection to be too invasive and wish to opt out of it without disabling all diagnostics and usage reporting. In this article we’ll go over how to disable diagnostic and usage data on your iPhone or iPad in iOS 11, iOS 10, iOS 9, iOS 8, iOS 7 and older versions of the operating system. How to disable diagnostic and usage data on your iPhone
Disabling Diagnostic Data
Go to Settings > Privacy > Diagnostics & Usage. From there, turn off Diagnostic Data. If you want even more control, you can also limit what kind of diagnostic information is being sent by choosing either Basic or Off for each category of information that’s transmitted. Note: If you’re not seeing Diagnostics & Usage in Settings, it may be because only some models have been updated with it yet. In that case, Apple has a support document detailing how to opt out of its systems.
Disabling Usage Data
Go to Settings > Privacy > Diagnostics & Usage. Now turn off Share with App Developers. This stops all diagnostic reporting from being sent back to Apple. You can now breathe a sigh of relief that there’s no way for Apple (or anyone else) to view statistics about how you use your phone or any app installed on it.
Disabling Advertising Identifier
This is a new feature that was added with iOS 10. It’s designed to allow advertisers to serve you more personalized advertisements based on what they know about you from other devices (say, if you checked out hiking boots online from an Android phone, you might start seeing ads for boots when using your iPhone). As a business owner, however, it would be nice if we could turn off all of these features. The good news is that we can—but it’s going to take some legwork.
Disabling Accelerometor and Gyroscope
Many apps use accelerometers (sometimes called an inertial measurement unit or IMU) for features like step counting. This type of data is sent to Apple, so that it can track how many steps you take, how far you walk in a day, etc. You can turn off these settings using Control Center (open it by swiping up from the bottom of any screen). Open Control Center by swiping down from any corner of your display.
Stopping Bug Reporter From Collecting Data
Bug Reporter collects diagnostics data that could include personal information. To stop Bug Reporter from collecting and uploading these files: 1. Open Settings 2. Go to Privacy > Diagnostics & Usage 3. Toggle Diagnostic & Usage OFF.
Disabling Siri Suggestions
Siri is great for getting directions, starting a phone call, or setting reminders. But if you prefer that Siri stay out of your business—perhaps for privacy reasons—here’s how to turn off her suggestions. To get started, go into Settings > General > Spotlight Search (or just search for Spotlight). Tap Siri Suggestions and toggle it off. That’s it! You can still use Siri by pressing down on your home button.
Disabling iCloud Analytics
iCloud Analytics is a feature that collects diagnostic and usage data from iOS devices, including battery status, app use, Apple ID login status and Wi-Fi network information. iCloud Analytics helps developers understand how their users interact with their apps by providing anonymous, aggregate insights.