2 Quick Ways to Check Microphone Usage on an iPhone

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Understand which apps can use your camera or microphone with permission

Written by Rain Kengly

Last Updated: November 7, 2023 Fact Checked

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Checking Microphone Usage

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Checking Permissions

Do you want to know if your iPhone is using your microphone or camera without your knowledge? While you won't be able to see a list of your microphone usage history, you can easily check which apps are actively using your hardware and change permissions if necessary. This can be done in your device's settings. This wikiHow will show you how to check microphone and camera usage on your iPhone 15, 14, 13, or older.

Things You Should Know

To see which app is using your microphone right now, open the Control Center. The app's name appears at the top.
To check microphone usage permissions, open "Settings" → "Privacy & Security" → "Microphone" or "Camera."
You can also close all apps to stop any usage. Swipe up from the bottom (or double-click the Home button) and then swipe up on the app.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Checking Microphone Usage

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1
Open the Control Center. You can see which app is using your microphone right now in Control Center.
- On iPhones without a Home button, swipe down on the top-right corner.
- On iPhones with a Home button, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
2
Find the app at the top. At the top of the Control Center, you'll see the app name next to a yellow microphone icon. This indicates that the app is currently using your microphone.
- If an app is using your camera, you'll see a green camera icon. This looks like the FaceTime icon.
- You'll also see apps that have recently used your microphone and/or camera for a few minutes before the notification disappears.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Checking Permissions

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1
Open the Settings app. This is the grey cog icon.
- Be sure to update your iPhone.
This will be below Battery. You'll need to scroll down to find this.
3
Tap Microphone or Camera. You'll see a list of apps that have requested permission to use these features.^{[1]
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- Apps that are allowed to use your microphone and/or camera will have a green switch.
4
Toggle off
an app (optional). If you want to revoke permission for an app on the list, tap the toggle so the switch turns grey.
- Some features, such as Siri, may use your microphone continuously when enabled. If needed, you can disable Siri altogether.