They’re some of the most popular smartphones around the world, but if you use an iPhone, you may notice a new orange dot appearing at the top of your screen.

The change is part of Apple’s latest operating system, iOS 14, which was released this week.

An orange dot will appear on your screen when an app makes use of your microphone.

Meanwhile, a green dot will appear on your screen when an app has access to your camera.

Apple explained: “An indicator appears at the top of your screen whenever an app is using your microphone or camera. And in Control Centre, you can see if an app has used them recently.”

If you notice the dot on your screen, you can swipe down from the corner of your iPhone to open the control centre, which will show which app was monitoring you.
If you notice the dot on your screen, you can swipe down from the corner of your iPhone to open the control centre, which will show which app was monitoring you (
Image:
iStock Editorial)

This includes Apple apps such as Camera, as well as third-party apps like Instagram.

Users also now have to give access to any app that wants to make use of the microphone or camera, with apps requesting permission when they’re installed.

To make of the new feature, you’ll need to update your system to iOS 14.

Simply open Settings > General > Software Update and you’ll be prompted to update your system if you haven’t already.

Video Loading

iOS 14 is available for:

iPhone 11

iPhone 11 Pro

iPhone 11 Pro Max

iPhone XS

iPhone XS Max

iPhone XR

iPhone X

iPhone 8

iPhone 8 Plus

iPhone 7

iPhone 7 Plus

iPhone 6s

iPhone 6s Plus

iPhone SE (1st generation)

iPhone SE (2nd generation)

iPod touch (7th generation)