I should file this under Public Service Announcement:
An article in the Wall Street Journal caught my attention. It was about iphones and a setting default that is “on.” It’s something I didn’t even know was on my phone. And I looked. Yes, it was on. I turned it off.
Here’s an excerpt:
Apple Turned On a Buried iPhone Setting. You Might Want It Off.
The ‘Discoverable by Others’ switch is on by default. Here’s what it does—and why it isn’t as scary as it sounds. By Joanna Stern
This creepy-sounding setting is leading people to think their name and location are being shared without their knowledge or consent. That’s not the case, says Apple, but you might want to turn it off anyway.
Last year, as a part of iOS 17.2, Apple released the Journal app. You can use it to jot down personal notes about your day, your life, what inspires you. You know, journal-y things.
You can turn on Journaling Suggestions. This recommends topics to write about based on things your phone (but not Apple) knows about you—music you’ve listened to, people you’ve called or messaged, photos you’ve recently taken, places you’ve visited, etc. You decide if you want to turn this on. When you first launch the Journal app, it will prompt you to do that. Those suggestions aren’t ever shared with Apple.
Here’s where it gets weird. When you go into Settings > Privacy & Security > Journaling Suggestions, you’ll see that Discoverable by Others is enabled by default—even if you never turned on suggestions. Under the setting it says, “Allow others to detect you are nearby to help prioritize their suggestions.”
https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/apple-iphone-discoverable-by-others-journaling-suggestions-9d63086d?mod=wsjhp_columnists_pos3
I don’t quite get what this function does. The reporter of this story Stern reached out to Apple. They said it gives more suggestions on what to journal about, but doesn’t share info with others. That’s reassuring, but also confusing. What is Discoverable by Others anyway?
Were you aware of this journaling function? Or Discoverable by Others? Have you used it?
I wrote about weird coincidences on my iphone a few weeks ago HERE.
