Orange dot - listening to iPhone calls?

Hey there, LT012.

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities! Thanks for posting about the new notification that you're seeing when using an app that uses the microphone. We'd be glad to help you out.

You mentioned that you turned off the microphone for all apps in the list in Settings > Privacy > Microphone. One app that you likely won't see in that list is the Phone app, which is what you use when handling normal phone calls on an iPhone, so you're seeing the orange light because the Phone app is using your microphone while you talk on the phone. This is expected.

More info about this new feature are available in the "Review or change access to the camera, microphone, and other hardware features" section of Control access to hardware features on iPhone.

Let us know if you need anything else.

Be well.

First it is orange or red depending on your screen settings. All it does is alert you that your microphone is turned on just like the green dot tells you the camera is turned on (it has done this for years). If you want to test it call someone and put them on speakerphone. The orange dot will be turned on because your microphone is turned on. Now tap the mute button and watch the orange light disappear. That is because you just turned off the microphone. Now tap Mute again and the light will come back on.

Laynii wrote:

I have been having same trouble orange light Only appears when I’m making or receiving phone calls, ive turned off all microphones related to phone & apps. And it’s still there, I think it appeared after my friend downloaded an app to my phone, ive removed app but still there. So if not recording my calls why only lights up when I’m on a call?

It’s really obvious that you haven’t read any of the thread you posted to. So I will summarize it for you.

The Orange dot means that: THE MICROPHONE IS ON. That is ALL it means. Let me repeat, the Orange dot means that: THE MICROPHONE IS ON. That is ALL it means.

So it should be intuitively obvious that the microphone must be on to have a phone conversation. if it wasn’t on the people on the other end of the call couldn’t hear you. You can test this the next time you are on a call by tapping the MUTE icon. You will see that the Orange dot disappears.

You are misinterpreting the point of the indicator.

Your iPhone has a microphone and camera(s). These are devices that can be used to listen or see.

So it's a privacy concern right?

The orange dot simply tells you that your microphone is being used. The green dot tells you that your camera is being used.

About the orange and green indicators in your iPhone status bar - Apple Support

When on a phone call, clearly the microphone will be used.. it's not something you need to monitor while on a phone call. But if you look and see that it's on, it should not be a surprise or a concern. Same concept for a FaceTime or Zoom call, with the green dot.

What these indicators should do is alert you to microphone and/or camera being used when not expected.

ie if you are not on a call and you are say.. reading thru your emails or typing up a shopping list in the Notes app and you notice the orange light is on, you'd then need to wonder what app is listening in the background.

Laynii wrote:

I have been having same trouble orange light Only appears when I’m making or receiving phone calls, ive turned off all microphones related to phone & apps. And it’s still there, I think it appeared after my friend downloaded an app to my phone, ive removed app but still there. So if not recording my calls why only lights up when I’m on a call?

Really? You can't honestly be serious, can you?

When you make a phone call, are you speaking to whomever you called, are you not? Can they hear you? If you are speaking on the call and they can hear you, just how do you imagine that magic happens? I'll make it simple. They can hear you, because your Microphone is capturing your voice for them to hear. Thus, the orange light is on to let you know the microphone is on. If it wasn't on, there would no way to have a phone call.

NO ONE IS RECORDING YOU.

And no, the orange dot didn't show up after a friend downloaded an app. The orange dot appeared when you downloaded iOS 14 on your phone as it was included in the update.

is that why the orange dot now on when I make a phone call

The dot is showing because you are using the microphone during the phone call.

Unless you purposely installed an app to record your calls, they are not being recorded.

there is a proper explanation right here

About the orange and green indicators in your iPhone status bar - Apple Support

the icon does also appear when you receive a call, you just have to answer the call

The dot does not represent eavesdropping. It is nothing more than an indication that the microphone of your iPhone is in use. No one is listening to you except someone you are talking to on the phone, or if you are recording something with Voice Memo, or another app like that.

bluejaywings wrote:

My conversations don’t feel private at all.

Your calls are exactly as private as they have always been. Before Apple implemented the indicator, your microphone was on when you were making calls. Now, you're just notified of the fact. Nothing else has changed.

So let's be clear about this: ALL the orange dot shows is that the microphone is in use. Period. It just shows that your mic is hot. Doing this has been around on microphones for decades. It is amazing that Apple had not done this before now when they already had a green light to show that the camera was in use for several years.

You aren't being recorded. In fact try to find a way to record a phone call on your iPhone. You can't.

There is absolutely NOTHING creepy about this. If I have muted my call the orange light will go off and when I return to it then it will come back on. If I'm talking to someone else and don't want the person on the other end to hear that conversation I'm glad a have a simple way to see that the mike is hot or not.

luciana169 wrote:

Why does it need to record me when the person I’m talking to is already listening to me. I phones are getting to be something else.

Nobody is recording you. Nowhere does it say you are being recorded.

The dot indicates the mic is ON. That's all. Nothing about being recorded.

So let’s be clear about this. Is a third party listening and recording are calls.

Again, no. There is no 3rd party. Your partner is listening because you called them or they called you. No recording

Facts matter.

Yes, an app using the microphone IS THE PHONE APP. If you don't want to ever see the orange dot, the simple solution is to NEVER make or answer a phone call, because when you do, the microphone is being used.

GoodLuckLane wrote:

Interesting. I get that the phone microphone needs to be used in a call where the phone is the mic, however, I just tested with my AirPods (which has its own mic) and the orange dot still shows. This leaves me asking "Why?".

If there wasn’t a microphone in the AirPods how would the person on the other end hear you? It is not just the built in microphone. The orange dot will appear when any microphone associated with the phone is active.

Yup, it means the microphone is being used by the phone app, which as you know is required for any phone conversation. The orange dot will also alert you if one of the other 1,000,000 Plus apps available in the App Store uses your microphone WITHOUT your knowledge.

If the dot appears a mic is on. Open the control center to see which app is using the mic. It will show at the very top of the control center screen.