Few people know what the small green or orange dot that sometimes shows up at the top of an iPhone screen actually means. Yet it can be a genuinely helpful clue when you are trying to spot a potential hacking attempt.
Since iOS 14, Apple has introduced a set of indicators designed to help users understand when apps - particularly third‑party ones - are accessing certain features on the phone. In everyday use, many people have mainly noticed the time changing colour, for instance when you enable Personal Hotspot (the indicator turns green).
What the coloured time indicators mean on iPhone
If the time is surrounded by a blue highlight, your iPhone is either in screen mirroring mode or an app is using your location. If the same indicator is red, a recording is in progress (either audio or a screen video recording). And if the time appears in purple, SharePlay is active.
Alongside these useful signals, iOS also displays a small dot in the top‑right of the screen.
Be wary of the green dot at the top of an iPhone screen - especially if it appears for no reason
Because you cannot tap the dot to get more detail, many users do not know what it is for. Despite being surprisingly unintuitive, it is a key indicator for anyone who understands it and wants to strengthen their smartphone security.
On its support pages, Apple explains: “In iOS 14 and later, an orange or green indicator might appear in the status bar on your iPhone. These indicators appear when the microphone and/or camera are being used by an app.”
In other words, when the dot is orange, it means an app is using the microphone right now on your iPhone. When the dot is green, it means the camera - or the camera and microphone together - is currently in use.
To make matters more confusing, this dot can appear either alongside, or instead of, the indicator around the time on the left. So how should you read it - and why might you need to react quickly? When the dot appears on its own, it is a sign that an app running in the background is using your microphone and/or camera sensor.
Of course, there may be a perfectly legitimate explanation. But in some cases, it can also point to a genuine hacking attempt.
How to see which app is using your microphone or camera
You can get more information about the dot by opening Control Centre. Above the controls, you will then see the name of the app that is accessing these features.
In most cases, if it is an Apple app, there is not much reason to worry. However, if the indicator is triggered by a third‑party app, you should check carefully why that app needs such access - and whether it could actually be an attempt at spying or hacking.
Read also – iPhone: how to stop your smartphone spying on you
If that is the case, you should delete the offending app as quickly as possible. And if you work in a sensitive role or handle sensitive activity, you may even want to restore your iPhone to factory settings to be sure you have not been infected with spyware malware in the style of Pegasus…
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