'How do I stop my iPhone from listening to me?': How to change your microphone settings so that your iPhone can't hear your voice

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• For privacy reasons or other practical issues, you might be wondering how to make your iPhone stop listening to you.
• Your iPhone’s microphone is on by default, so that it can hear you when you use the “Hey Siri” phrase to activate Siri remotely.
• You can easily disable “Hey Siri” and the microphone function for specific apps through your iPhone’s Settings app.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The iPhone’s microphone and Siri smart assistant can be a handy tool for hands-free commands and dictation.

But they can also both backfire spectacularly — like when you find yourself accidentally calling your boss at midnight because you accidentally woke Siri with your voice, or if you’re worried about someone hearing your recordings.

Fortunately, there’s a way to prevent these sort of miscommunications before they happen by disabling microphone access for Siri and any apps you’re wary of recording you.

Here are the easy steps to disable microphone access on your iPhone, along with the “Hey Siri” wake phrase.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

iPhone 11 (From $699.99 at Best Buy)

How to make your iPhone stop listening to you

Disable microphone access for specific apps

1. Open your iPhone’s Settings app.

2. Scroll or search for the “Privacy” settings page. 

3. On this page, tap “Microphone.”

4. You’ll see a list of every app that has access to your microphone. Tap the slider next to each one to revoke their access — the slider will turn gray when turned off.

You can also prevent microphone access when you install a new app — when asked for access, hit “Don’t Allow.”

Disable “Hey Siri”

1. Again, open Settings.

2. Scroll down to the “Siri & Search” page. If you use the search bar, be sure to select “Siri & Search” and not just “Siri.”

3. Disable “Listen for ‘Hey Siri'” at the very top by tapping the switch next to it.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:

• How to enable and use Siri on any iPhone X model in 2 different ways

• How to stop your iPhone from tracking your location, and manage each app’s location-tracking

• How to record a phone call on your iPhone using third-party apps

• How you can easily delete all the photos on your iPhone at once

SEE ALSO: The best iPhone accessories from cases to lightning cables

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