How to stop your iphone from tracking your steps

Apple’s so-called IDFA (identifier for advertisers) is under fire once again after a European privacy advocate accused the iPhone maker of unlawfully installing the ad tracking function on its devices. Here’s how you can disable ad tracking. Apple’s so-called IDFA (identifier for advertisers) is under fire once again after a European … [+] privacy advocate accused the iPhone maker of unlawfully installing the ad tracking function on its devices. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images When Apple launched iOS 14 this fall, it was already planning to give consumers more choice over whether to enable the IDFA—which allows advertisers to track your behavior and consumption preferences. But the iPhone maker delayed the new privacy feature after a major pushback from advertisers including Facebook. Now, according to Bloomberg, there’s been pushback in the other direction, against the IDFA, by Noyb, a group founded by privacy activist Max Schrems. The group is complaining that because the trackers are placed on iPhones by default, consumers are unable to consent to them. Rather than being based on the 2018 EU Update to Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the complaints by Noyb are based around an old EU law regulating firms’ use of cookies and other tracking devices, Bloomberg said. The action refers to only German and Spanish users who complained about Apple’s use of invasive trackers. But Apple has hit back against the claims, calling them “factually inaccurate.” In a statement, the iPhone maker said: “We look forward to making that clear to privacy regulators should they examine the complaint. Apple does not access or use the IDFA on a user’s device for any purpose. “Our aim is always to protect the privacy of our users and our latest software release, iOS 14, is giving users even greater control over whether or not they want to allow apps to track them by linking their information with data from third parties for the purpose of advertising, or sharing their information with data brokers. “Our practices comply with European law and support and advance the aims of the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive, which is to give people full control over their data.”

How to stop iPhone tracking

I recently wrote a useful guide on how to use Apple’s new privacy features in iOS 14. Within that, I included some steps detailing how you can prevent advertisers from tracking you ahead of the planned opt-in feature—which will hopefully become available in an updated version of iOS 14 in 2021. So for now, in your Settings, go to Privacy > Tracking. Here you can turn off the ability to allow apps to request to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies. In your Settings, go to Privacy, then Tracking. Here you can turn off the ability to allow apps to … [+] request to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies. Apple iPhone If you ask to “learn more” the text is a little confusing so I’ll explain it here. If you turn off the ability for apps to ask to track you, you also stop them from tracking you across apps by default. As Apple explains, if you disable Allow Apps to ask to Track, “any app that attempts to ask for your permission will be blocked from asking and automatically informed that you have requested not to be tracked.” In your privacy settings you can go to Analytics and Improvements and toggle off data sharing here. IOS 14 added a bunch of cool new privacy and security features such as an Orange dot to show when your camera and mic are in use, and developers now have to offer a privacy “nutrition label” to show how your data is used. I’m hopeful Apple will add the anti-tracking feature to iOS 14 soon. For now, why not go through and adjust your iPhone settings yourself.

If you have an Apple Health profile, every step you take is being recorded on your iPhone. If you don’t want it stored on your iPhone, you can stop your iPhone from collecting it in the first place. Here’s how. First, open Settings on your iPhone.

In Settings, select “Privacy.” In iPhone Settings, tap "Privacy."

In “Privacy,” tap “Motion & Fitness.” Tap "Motion & Fitness."

In “Motion and Fitness,” locate “Health” in the list and turn off the switch beside it. (If you don’t have any other apps that use Motion & Fitness data, “Health” will be the only app in the list.) This setting prevents Apple’s Health app from accessing your movement sensor data. Turn off the switch beside "Health."

If you don’t use any other apps that need Motion & Fitness data to work properly, you could alternatively turn off the “Fitness Tracking” switch. With “Fitness Tracking” disabled, no apps will be able to access your iPhone’s movement sensor data. Exit Settings and you’re done. RELATED: What You Can Do With Your iPhone’s Health App

How to Clear Your iPhone Steps Data

Even if you just now disabled Fitness Tracking or turned off the Health app’s ability to receive Motion & Fitness data, it’s likely that the Health app still contains data about your activity levels over time. Here’s how to clear that out. First, open the Health app. On the Health “Summary” page, locate the “Steps” section and tap it. It may be in different places on your screen depending on whether you’ve used other Health features or not. In the Health app, tap "Steps." Next, scroll down to the very bottom of the “Steps” screen and select “Show All Data.” Tap "Show All Data" Next, you’ll see a list of all “Steps” data recorded on your iPhone over time. It can stretch back pretty far! Tap “Edit” in the upper-right corner. Tap "Edit" You’ll enter an edit screen where you can delete data from certain days if you wish, but you can also delete all of the data at once. To do so, tap “Delete All” in the upper-left corner of the screen. Tap "Delete All" After confirming the deletion, Health will remove all recorded step data. If you’ve disabled Health’s access to “Fitness Tracking” (see the section above), then Health will no longer collect data and the record of your physical activity has now been emptied into the dustbin of history. There are other steps you can take to make sure that your activities stay private on an iPhone, such as disabling Location Services. Even if some iPhone tracking features don’t represent a threat to your well being, it’s always good to find out more about how your iPhone keeps tabs on your movement or location. Stay safe out there! RELATED: How to Check and Tighten All Your iPhone’s Privacy Settings READ NEXT

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How-To Geek is where you turn when you want experts to explain technology. Since we launched in 2006, our articles have been read more than 1 billion times. Want to know more? holding iPhone screen Not a fan of your iPhone counting your steps? Maybe you have a smartwatch or another device that already does that, so you probably don’t need your phone to track your step count. Or worse, you’re getting double-counts of steps! Luckily, you can turn off this feature, and it is super easy to do. Keep scrolling to learn how to stop your iPhone from counting your steps.

About step and activity tracking on your iPhone

Many people don’t even realize that their iPhones are counting their steps and distance whenever they take their iPhone with them, even when they aren’t actively holding it! The iPhone is, in fact, a pretty good step count and pedometer. Your iPhone counts the steps via the Apple Health app you take when you walk around with it in your pocket, backpack, or anything else using its sensors. This data is only stored on your iPhone and your iCloud (if the Health app is turned on–all iCloud health data is encrypted so no one can read it, not even Apple.) Most iPhone models gather fitness data like steps and distance from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass. These sensors measure your motion and fitness data, including your step count, motion, distance, stairs climbed, and even more! If you don’t want your iPhone tracking all your fitness data with its sensors, you can adjust some settings, so your steps and other fitness activity aren’t automatically sent to your iPhone’s Health app. It doesn’t take much time to set up your iPhone so it’s not automatically counting the steps you take when carrying your iPhone with you throughout the day. Follow these steps:

How to turn off step and activity tracking on iPhone

To turn off step tracking on your iPhone, open the Settings app.
Scroll down to Privacy and select it.
Then, scroll down to Motion & Fitness and tap it.
In the Motion & Fitness settings tab, you’ll see every app that uses your iPhone’s Fitness Tracking feature.
1. You can turn off Fitness Tracking for everything, but the apps that rely on this information to function will not work correctly.
So instead, you are going to turn off Motion & Fitness Tracking for Apple Health. Again, leave ON all the other apps you want to track your steps and other activities.

stop iPhone Health app from tracking steps These Health app settings are how your iPhone gets its step count total. When you turn it off, you prevent the Health app from automatically counting the steps you take while carrying your iPhone. Once you turn Fitness Tracking off for Apple Health, the app still has your previous step count data stored in the app. So if you do not want that information in the app, you will have to delete it.

How to remove step data from Apple Health

Clearing your step count from the Apple Health app is not as simple as it should be! So follow these steps.

First off, open the Apple Health app and make sure you are in the Summary tab. You can also open the Browse tab and select Activity > Steps.
Scroll down to Steps. If you do not see Steps in your favorites, you can always search for it in the Browse tab and choose Activity.
When you open up the Steps information, you’ll see your day’s current step data that your iPhone has. You can review the day, week, month, 6 months, or your year’s total step count.
Then, scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the Show All Data button. Click that.
Once you do that, all of your recorded daily step totals pop up–these include steps from any connected apps, smartwatches, or trackers and steps counted by your iPhone.
Tap on a date or individual step count.
You see a list of each step entry, including steps from your connected devices, apps, and those from your phone, identified by icons.
1. The steps counted on your phone only show a phone icon.
2. To get more information about a step count, tap on it. You see the source, the total count, and the start and end times your iPhone and the Health app recorded those steps.
To delete an entry, click on the Edit button at the top of your screen.
You see options to delete individual entries and an option to delete everything.
1. Tap on the red minus symbol next to an individual step count to delete it. Then swipe on the Delete button.
2. Or tap the Delete All button in the left-hand corner to delete all entries for the day, including all steps from all devices and apps.
  1. Deleting all removes all data, including that from your connected devices and apps and your phone.
  2. Confirm you wish to delete that entire day’s step entries.

You can also remove steps your iPhone counted by choosing Data Sources & Access instead of Show All Data from the Steps options.

In the Health app, choose the Summary tab and select Steps. Or open the Browse tab and select Activity > Steps.
In the Steps section, scroll down to Options and tap Data Sources & Access.
You see all the third-party apps you allowed to read data from the Health app.
1. Apps toggled on can read your Health app data.
2. Apps toggled off cannot read your Health app data.
Scroll down to the bottom to the section and choose Data Sources.
Review the list and find the entries for your iPhone. If you’ve owned multiple iPhones over the years, you see their entries.
Tap the entry for the name of your iPhone.
You see a list of steps counted with your iPhone by date. Tap on an entry to see more.
The Health app now shows you a list of all steps counted by your iPhone for just that day by time and step count.
To delete all the entries or a single entry, tap the Edit button at the top.
You see options to delete individual entries as well as an option to delete everything.
1. Tap on the red minus symbol next to an individual step count to delete it. Then swipe on the Delete button.
2. Or tap the Delete All button in the left-hand corner to delete all entries for the day–that includes all steps from just your iPhone, not any wearables or third-party apps.
3. Confirm you wish to delete that day’s iPhone step entries.

Things to keep in mind

One important thing to remember is that if you own an Apple Watch, your iPhone’s step count should not duplicate (double) your step total. Instead, the Apple Watch and iPhone pull the data together to get an accurate count. So if your Apple Health app has a higher step count than your Apple Watch, that is just because it combined the two sources of information. It is not an additional step count. Let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.

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