These iOS Settings are often overlooked, but once you get to know them you can control your privacy and extend your data limits
These iOS Settings are often overlooked, but once you get to know them you can control your privacy and extend your data limits.
Wi-Fi Assist helps you enjoy a better connection by using your mobile data network to supplement a patchy Wi-Fi connection.
This is fine when you have data bandwidth to burn, but not great at all when you are coming close to the end of your data allocation – you don’ t want to pay a surcharge, do you? You don’ t have to – just remember how to control the feature.
So, where is it?
New in iOS 11 is a feature that lets you fine tune how your apps update themselves. Open Settings>General>Background App Refresh> Background App Refresh and you’ ll see three choices:
This is a big improvement as it means you can set your apps to refresh in the background only when you are on Wi-Fi, which should help you preserve data bandwidth and battery life.
This also means your Mail, other regularly updated information and apps will be automatically bought up-to-date whenever you get onto a Wi-Fi connection. It’s a useful addition some may have missed. Here are some other ways to manage cellular data bandwith.
Location Services are useful. They allow apps and websites to use information about your approximate location to deliver relevant information to you, such as travel directions.
What’s less widely known is that iOS gathers and stores information about your most frequently visited locations. This helps it to figure out what you need to know, but it is possible that you don’ t want a record kept of some of the places you frequently go – particularly if you work in an industry in which security and privacy matter. You can get rid of the location information your device gathers about you in a relatively hidden setting.
So, where is it?
Be warned: disabling Frequent Location may impact some of the features you may use, you won’ t see estimated travel times in Today view, for example. Apple also says this information is not shared with Apple or stored online, it’s all kept on your device.
