‘Your iPhone is recording’ warns Apple as secret meaning behind clock’s four colors revealed – never ignore purple
HAVE you ever noticed that your iPhone's clock changes colors? You need to pay attention to it.
The time icon that lives in the status bar at the top of your iPhone is actually extremely important.
It can signal when important features are active on your iPhone, and some shouldn't be ignored.
Not everyone knows what this change means though: one Reddit thread asked: "Why is the clock in the upper left corner constantly in a blue oval?"
It turns out that the clock can actually change into one of four colors, each with their own unique meaning.
Apple notes: "On iPhone X and later, the color shows as a bubble behind the time.
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"On iPhone 8 or earlier, the color goes all the way across the status bar."
The four colors are blue, green, red, and purple.
If you see Blue, it means that your iPhone is using Screen Mirroring, which shouldn't be ignored.
Alternatively, it can also mean that an app is actively using your location.
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You can tap on the clock when it turns blue and you'll be able to find out what's going on.
If the clock turns green, that means one of two things.
First, it could mean that you're on a phone call – and the second meaning is that your iPhone is providing a Personal Hotspot.
This is also important: a Personal Hotspot means someone else may be draining your data, so make sure you're aware of who's connected.
If you see a red oval around the clock then your iPhone is recording.
That could be recording sound, or alternatively capturing your screen.
Either way, make sure you know what's causing this – recordings that you're unaware of may be a sign that you've got a dangerous app installed.
Finally, there's purple: this means you're using SharePlay to share content.
You'll want to make sure to investigate and turn this off if you're confused – otherwise you may be unknowingly sharing content with someone else.
THAT'S NOT ALL
There are some other key indicators that you might spot on your iPhone's status bar.
From time to time, you may see an orange or green dot appear.
If you see the orange dot, it means that your microphone has been activated by an app.
And a green dot signals the same thing, but for your camera.
You can swipe into the Control Center to see exactly which app is using this.
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And if you're not happy with an app accessing your microphone or camera, you can disable the permissions in just a few taps by going into Settings.
That way, you can prevent rogue apps from accessing these key sensors inappropriately.