iPhone users warned over little orange dot at top of screen
iPhone users have been warned if they spot a tiny orange symbol on their phone screen.
The small icon pops up from time to time on the top right hand corner of the screen, and while some of us might not even notice it or have dismissed it as harmless, one TikToker warned that it's anything but.
TikTok user Jamie Nyland - username @mrjamienyland - even said that it could be time to 'get help' if you see it.
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Jamie claimed: "If you see this orange dot on your phone, you need to get help seriously fast. If you see an orange dot like this on top of your iPhone, this means someone is listening to you.
"It’s been all over the news, and in fact the orange dot is a warning sign from Apple that someone is using your microphone without your permission.
"If you have no apps open and this is still there, then someone is spying on your phone and listening to your conversations. So if you see this orange dot, turn your phone off immediately and go and get help."
Some TikTok users have been freaked out by the discovery, as one commented: "I'm getting pretty scared now.”
While a second added: "I’m so scared.”
And a third wrote: “WHAAAATTTT!?!?”
Yet Jamie's warning isn't all it seemed, as some savvy users also rightly pointed out that the little orange icon can just mean an app is using the mic. This means you're using a social media app or even a messaging app that's using the microphone.
One TikToker commented on the video: "Just means your mic is live, not that someone is listening in."
Someone else added: "It just means the microphone is in use."
Another said: "It doesn’t mean someone’s listening to you, it means there’s an app using your microphone or was using it recently."
The latter comments are backed up by Apple, as the tech giant's website explains: "With iOS 14 or later, an orange dot, an orange square or a green dot indicates when the microphone or camera is being used by an app.
"An orange indicator means the microphone is being used by an app on your iPhone. This indicator appears as an orange square if the Differentiate Without Colour setting is on. To enable Differentiate Without Colour, go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size."
Apple also explained that there are other colour dots that come up from time to time, too.
For example, a green dot 'means either the camera or the camera and the microphone are being used by an app on your iPhone', while a blue arrow 'may appear when the app you’re using requests your location'.