What Does the Orange Dot on iPhone Mean? (2024)

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The orange square or dot in the status bar shows up when the mic is being used. Swipe down to see which app is listening to you

Joshua Hawkins

Freelance Technology Reporter

Full Sail University

Josh Hawkins is a freelance writer for Lifewire who loves writing about the latest tech and gadgets that help make people’s lives easier. As an avid gamer and VR enthusiast, he also enjoys diving deep into the technology that helps bring those kinds of experiences to life.

lifewire's editorial guidelines

Updated on March 26, 2024

Reviewed by

Michael Barton Heine Jr

What to Know

The orange dot at the top of your iPhone's screen lets you know an app is accessing the microphone.
You can't disable the orange dot. To hide it, swipe down from the top to see the app in question, then close the app.
To make the dot a square, turn on Differentiate Without Color in Settings > Accessibility> Display & Text Size.

In this article, you’ll learn why your iPhone sometimes has an orange dot at the top of the screen and how to customize or hide the dot. This feature is available in iOS 14 and later.

What Does the Orange Dot on iPhone Mean?

The orange dot at the top of your iPhone’s screen activates when an app on your phone uses the microphone. The orange indicator light is one of a few privacy features Apple introduced with iOS 14.

The iPhone’s orange dot will appear when you use apps like Voice Memo or third-party applications that need to access the microphone. You will also see the orange indicator when making phone calls or using voice-to-text.

You may also see a green dot appearing on your iPhone in the same place as the orange dot. This colored dot lets you know an app is accessing your camera and will appear when using your phone’s camera app, FaceTime, and other apps that record video.

Can You Disable the Orange Dot on the iPhone?

Because the orange dot and its green counterpart are part of Apple’s push to prioritize user privacy, you cannot disable the feature. However, those who have difficulty differentiating between colors can change how the orange dot appears in the status bar. Follow these steps to turn the orange dot into a square:

Open the Settings app.
Tap Accessibility.
Select Display & Text Size.
Tap the toggle next to Differentiate Without Color. This will make the orange dot appear as an orange square. The green dot will remain the same shape and color.

While the function itself can't be turned off, you can hide the orange dot. To do that, simply shut down the app that's using the mic.

How to Tell What Apps Are Using Your Phone’s Microphone

The main reason the orange dot exists on your iPhone is to let you know when an app uses your microphone, but how do you see which apps are using it?

What Does the Orange Dot on iPhone Mean? (5)

When you see the orange indicator appear at the top of your screen, you can swipe down from the top to reveal which apps are using your microphone. For example, if you do this while talking to someone on the phone, you'll see the Phone app listed.

How to Remove the Grey Home Bar at the Bottom of an iPhone

FAQ

How do I make the orange dot on my iPhone screen go away?

You can't make the orange dot go away forever, but it will disappear once you stop using any apps that are accessing the microphone. Of course, the orange dot will turn on again the next time another app accesses the microphone.
Why does the orange dot appear when my phone is locked, then disappear when unlocked?

It's possible that one of the apps on your iPhone is accessing the microphone when it's locked. Go to Settings > Privacy > Microphone and look for any apps that look out of place or otherwise shouldn't be accessing your microphone. Disable any permissions you find suspicious, then check to see if the orange dot reappears when your iPhone is locked.

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