Default Settings - iOS 26
Settings from Apple That You Might Want to Change
iPhone Default Settings are chosen to…
- Make iPhones convenient to use without having to understand anything;
- Allow Apple's own apps to work together with user data saved on the iPhone.
Apple assumes you will recharge your iPhone regularly, so battery life is not their priority, though battery life is extremely important to many iPhone users.
Convenience and Privacy are a balancing act for Apple's default settings. Apple leans heavily toward convenience for new users more than maximizing user privacy. You may prefer a different balance.
The Privacy vs Convenience trade-offs of Settings are much more significant for apps not designed by Apple. Data sharing among Apple's own apps is done primarily on your device, but other developers' apps may send your data to other peoples' servers to be used in ways you might never know. The collection of personal data from phones is an extremely common and hugely-profitable business, accomplished primarily with the non-Apple apps you install from the App Store.
Understand the Default Settings on your iPhone, and make changes to them for the experience and security you want. This checklist is a starting point. It has been updated for iOS 26.1, which added some new defaults, but generally did not change your older settings.
Checklist of Default Settings to Review… and Maybe Change
This Settings are listed in the order they occur in the Setting App on your iPhone in iOS 26. The location of the setting is shown in brackets below each description.
- iCloud Backup — to Backup your phone to iCloud, you need to run the first backup yourself and set the "Back Up This iPhone" toggle to On. Your iCloud Backup may be the only way to get your iPhone back in working order if it is lost, stolen, damaged, or bricked.
[ Apple Account ➾ iCloud ➾ iCloud Backup ] - Find My iPhone — this app and Apple service can show the location of your iPhone, and other devices on your Apple Account, and even people with whom you choose to share location via iPhone GPS systems. You must turn this On for yourself; it's Off by Default.
[ Apple Account ➾ Find My ➾ Find My iPhone ] - Wi-Fi ➾ Ask to Join Networks — usually On by default, so your iPhone’s Wi-Fi radio is scanning for potential networks to join. This burns a lot of battery, and, when it finds a Wi-Fi network while you’re on Cellular, it will ask you if you want to join it. Your phone can still join previously-used Wi-Fi networks with this turned Off, which uses less battery.
[ Wi-Fi ➾ Ask to Join Networks ] - Wi-Fi ➾ Auto Join Hotspot — usually On by default though iPhone users usually rely on their own Wi-Fi networks. Joining can also create a problem if the hotspot device has a metered or limited data plan because while it appears to be a WiFi connection, it is actually using the Data Plan. Turning the auto-join feature Off still lets you choose to use it later if Wi-Fi goes out.
[ Wi-Fi ➾ Auto Join Hotspot ] - Bluetooth ➾ Most updates turn Bluetooth On by default even if you had it turned Off before updating. If you use bluetooth gear with your iPhone, or if you use AirDrop or Copy-and-Paste between devices, then you need it On. However, if you don’t need it, it’s a big battery draw even if it's not connected to anything.
[ Bluetooth ] - Cellular ➾ Wi-Fi Assist — On by Default, but should be Off if your cellular data plan is metered or limited to avoid a nasty surprise on your cellular billing! With it enabled, your cellular data will be used without warning whenever your Wi-Fi connection is weak!
[ Cellular ➾ Wi-Fi Assist ] - Adaptive Battery Power — only available on Apple Intelligence-capable iPhones, but, even there, it's turned Off by default, but probably should be enabled to improve battery life and health.
[ Battery ➾ Power Mode ➾ Adaptive Power ] - Automatic Software Updates — is usually turned back ON by default even if you had them OFF before running the update. Keep all of these options Off if you want to control when your iOS is updated. It's okay if you want them On, but updates will interrupt use of the iPhone when an update starts automatically.
[ General > Software Update > Automatic Updates ] - AirDrop, Airplay & Continuity — where you enable AirDrop and Handoff features which are not turned on for you. Turn these On to start these services being synced among your devices.
[ General ➾ AirDrop (and) Airplay & Continuity ] - Screen Capture options — lets you change Screen Capture appearance which changed with Liquid Glass in iOS 26. Turning Off the default Full Screen Previews restores the look of iOS 18 captures.
[ General ➾ Screen Capture ] - Background App Refresh — On by default, but can create a big battery hit. Turning it Off saves battery life and rarely causes any noticeable delay in showing the latest data when an app opens.
[ General ➾ Background App Refresh ] - Accessibility — essentially nothing is On by default here, but many users prefer to use some of these even without any disability needs (i.e. Accessibility ➾ Display & Text Size ➾ Reduce Transparency) to reduce issues with transparent control backgrounds.
- Apple Intelligence & Siri — only on Apple Intelligence capable iPhones — gets it turned on by Default after most iOS updates.
- Allow Siri When Locked — may be turned On by default, but this is a know security risk. It let’s others use Siri without you unlocking your phone! If it's On, by sure you have a good reason for not choosing to turn it Off.
[ Apple Intelligence & Siri ➾ Allow Siri When Locked ] - Preserve Camera Settings — Defaults usually set to preserve camera mode but not the Live Photos choice. If you want Live Photos OFF, turn ON the Preserve Settings toggle for Live Photo, then turn Live Photo options Off in the Camera App itself. Otherwise, Apple enables Live Photos by default each time you open the Camera App.
[ Camera ➾ Preserve Settings ➾ Live Photo (turn On! to stop live photos) ] - Home Screen & App Library — New Apps get added to Home Screen by Default.
[ Home Screen & App Library ] - Notifications ➾ Show Previews — default has been Always, but should be set to When Unlocked if you don’t want stray passersby to be able to read your notification details in full.
[ Notifications ➾ Show Previews ] - Change Ringtone Volume With Buttons — turned On by default, so if you turn volume down or off with buttons your ringtones go silent too. Turn this toggle to Off to keep your ringtone from being silenced by the side buttons when you've adjusted other sound levels.
[ Sound & Haptics ➾ Change With Button ] - Keyboard & Lock Sounds — these are both On by default so your keyboard clicks and locking your screen makes a snap sound, mimicking mechanical sounds. You can turn either or both of them Off if you want to quit bothering others around you.
[ Sound & Haptics ➾ Keyboard Feedback ] and
[ Sound & Haptics ➾ Lock Sound ] - Allow Access When Locked — by default, most - if not all - of these Lock Screen options are enabled to allow access to these action while your iPhone is still locked, which is a huge security risk. You can unlock your iPhone with a glance or a touch, so why would you leave any of these available to someone who can't unlock your iPhone? I recommend turning them all Off unless you discover a valid reason to turn a specific option on. When Apple adds a new option here, it turns it ON by default even you had all of the others turned Off, choosing convenience over security!
[ Face ID & Passcode ➾ Allow Access When Locked ] near the bottom of the screen - Locations Services — this is toggled On by default and should be left ON in the topmost toggle. Turn the main toggle to Off will stop some of the normal expected functions of your iPhone, including it's ability to locate and connect to cell towers. Instead, location permissions should be adjusted for each App. Some Apps such as Maps and System Services need to be left On, but most can be set to Never, or, if there is a valid reason for an app to know your location, set it to While Using. Many apps try to collect location information to use in building a data profile of you, even if they don't need it to make their app work.
Note: Camera uses location permission to embed image-capture GPS data in each photo. Do not post images with embedded locations to social media unless you want it exposed online.
[ Privacy & Security ➾ Locations Services ] check each App in list individually. - Wired Accessories — this should be set to Ask for New Accessories.
This new option can help prevent Juice Jacking — the capturing of your phones data through USB-C charging ports. Apple's default setting is Wrong for all devices with a USB-C charging port!
Note: This was added in iOS 26.1, and was set to a default of Automatically Allow When Unlocked which could allow Juice Jacking automatically.
[ Privacy & Security ➾ Wired Accessories ] - Track Significant Locations & Routes — records a hidden tracking file on your iPhone which can be read by Apple and law enforcement (but not you!) to see wherever you have gone. Generally recommend you leave the System Services in their default positions (mainly On) except for Significant Locations.
[ Privacy & Security ➾ Location Services ➾ System Services ➾ Significant Locations & Routes ] - Allowing App Tracking — this toggle is On by default, but why would you even let an App ask for permission to track you? Apple left this On by default because data trackers were furious when Apple decided to offer iPhone users this choice. Most iPhone users who become aware of this option turn it Off. Tracking has nothing to do with your physical location; it's about letting apps collect data about what you do while using other apps!
[ Privacy & Security ➾ Tracking ➾ Allow Apps to Request to Track ] - Security for Wired Accessories — Apple added this recently, but they mistakenly set the Default to "Automatically Allow When Unlocked." While convenient to new users, this is absolutely the wrong option; it leaves your iPhone completely exposed to USB Juice Jacking by hackers! Change this to either Always Ask, or Ask for New Accessories, which will cause fewer notifications while still protecting you. Change! this! Now!
[ Privacy & Security ➾ Security ➾ Wired Accessories ] near bottom of the screen
Default Settings for Individual Apps
[ in the Apps list at the end of main Settings screen ]
- Default Apps ➾ Calling — default is FaceTime but most prefer that Cellular is used when you click the "Call button" (phone icon) in a Contact.
- App Store ➾ Automatic Downloads — all 3 of these can be turned Off if you prefer to update apps manually in the App Store to reduce battery use.
- Contacts ➾ Apple Intelligence & Siri ➾ Show Contact Suggestions — On by default, which can cause your iPhone to show Contacts which you never entered, based on info it finds in emails, messages, etc. Turning this Off makes those phantom contacts disappear.
- FaceTime ➾ Default Calling App — this has a tendency to reset itself to FaceTime instead of Cellular even after you choose Cellular in the Default Apps section (above). This appears to be a bug in early 26.
- Mail ➾ Mail Accounts ➾ Fetch New Data — These are usually On by default, but Fetch can be turned Off on all accounts to reduce battery use. Opening the Mail App will manually perform a search when you use it even with Fetch services turned Off.
- Messages ➾ Shared With You — On by default, which adds stuff to your Photos based on images received via Messages. Turning this Off will stop the phantom appearance of received stuff in other apps, including Contacts and Photos, unless you intentionally save them there.
- Messages ➾ Conversation Backgrounds — new and turned On by default in iOS 26, allowing anyone on a thread to change the background color or image at any time. While entertaining, some users find these distracting or problematic when reading messages. You can toggle message backgrounds Off if you prefer not to use them at all.
Apple's Default Settings create a convenient iPhone experience for new users but certainly not the most secure.
Apple offers choices in Settings so you can change the defaults as you use and learn more about your phone.
Toggles in settings do not risk breaking your iPhone!
Choose your settings depending on the User Experience, Privacy, Security, Convenience, and Battery Life you prefer.
Find the right balance for you. Make it your own.
Updated Friday, November 14, 2025 for iOS 26.1