While iOS 14 was all about widgets and App Library, iOS 15 focuses on core apps and other feel-good improvements. Unlike Android, Apple handles all the apps settings from the dedicated Settings app. Here are the 20 new iOS 15 Settings you should know about for a better OS experience.
Apart from Focus mode, iOS 15 doesn’t bring any major change to the OS but dig deeper, and you will see several tweaks and options in the Settings app to take your iOS 15 experience to the next level.
1. iCloud Private Relay
This is a part of iCloud+ improvements that come with iOS 15. Apple has added iCloud Private Relay to safeguard your Safari browsing.
When you browse Safari, iCloud Private Relay will route the browsing traffic through an Apple-branded server and give your approximate location to the third-party trackers.
iCloud subscribers can enable it from the Settings > Profile > iCloud > Private Relay menu.
2. Change IP Address Location
When it comes to sharing your IP address through iCloud Private Relay, Apple offers two options to choose from – Maintain General Location and Use Country and Time Zone. By default, it’s set to the former.
You can keep using your general IP address location so that websites can provide local content in Safari, or you can choose to use a broader IP address location in your country and time zone. You can change this from the Settings > Profile > iCloud > iCloud Private Relay > IP Address Location Settings menu.
3. Check ‘Hide My Email’ Menu
With iOS 13, Apple introduced ‘Sign in with Apple’ to let users use a custom email ID to sign in with apps without sharing their primary email ID.
This time, the company has added a dedicated Hide My Email menu that allows you to customize and look at all the email IDs created with the ‘Sign in with Apple’ function over the past two years.
Go to Settings > Profile > iCloud > Hide My Email, and you’ll see all the custom email IDs that you used with different services to sign up on iPhone.
4. Disable Forward to Main Email Inbox
All these custom emails you created with ‘Sign in with Apple’ are set to deliver emails to your primary email address. However, you can change this behavior in iOS 15.
Navigate to Settings > Profile > iCloud > Hide My Email, and open a service you no longer want to receive emails. Disable Forward to toggle from the following menu, and you won’t get any emails from the company.
5. Create Custom Email Address
Hide My Email also allows iCloud+ subscribers to create custom email addresses to use over the web. That way, you don’t have to share your primary email ID with any random website.
Open Settings > Profile > iCloud > Hide My Email, and tap on Create new address. Give it a minute, and Apple will create a custom email address that you can use. Add a relevant label and note to it and hit done.
Copy the email address and start signing up for services without sharing your primary email ID.
6. Delete Temporary Email IDs
Surprisingly, Apple has buried the ability to delete temporary email IDs in the Settings menu. Here’s how to access it.
Open the Settings app on iPhone, go to Profile > iCloud > Hide My Email, and tap on the email ID you want to remove. Select Manage Settings from the following menu and tap on Edit at the top.
Remove the email IDs from the list with a swipe gesture, and you are good to go.
7. Disable iCloud Private Relay for Wi-Fi
While iCloud Private Relay is an excellent privacy add-on, the service is still in beta, and you might face trouble accessing certain websites.
Apple has added an option to turn off iCloud Private Relay for a specific Wi-Fi network. For home networks, you can disable iCloud Private Relay. However, we won’t advise disabling it for public or café Wi-Fi networks.
Go to Settings > Wi-Fi and select Wi-Fi connection. Slide into the info menu and disable iCloud Private Relay from the menu.
8. Notification Summary
This is an interesting new addition from Apple in iOS 15. The OS brings something called Scheduled Summary that you can enable to receive notifications during your free time.
Go to Settings > Notifications > Scheduled Summary and enable the toggle. Now you can define when you want to receive a Notification summary and which apps should be on the list.
You can select a set time in the morning and night to receive a notification summary. To make a better decision, iOS also shows the number of notifications you receive from installed apps.
This is much better than the Focus mode as you don’t miss any calls or notifications and only receive them at your comfort time.
9. Share Focus Mode Across Devices
By now, you must have heard and learned about the new Focus mode in iOS 15.
In a classic Apple move, you can easily share the created Focus mode across all the Apple hardware running the same Apple account. Meaning, you can enable Work Focus mode on iPhone, and it will get enabled on your iPad and Mac as well.
Go to Settings > Focus and enable Share Across Devices toggle.
10. Add Automation in Focus Mode
In iOS 15, you don’t need to enable Focus mode manually. You can enable and use a Focus profile based on automation.
One can select from location, time, and app-based automation for a specific Focus profile. For example, you can automatically enable Focus mode at a particular time in the morning and disable it at night.
Similarly, you can enable the Gaming Focus profile when you open a specific game. Go to Settings > Focus > Select a Focus profile > Automation and create an automation for the profile.
11. Add Text Size Toggle
iOS 15 allows users to change text size per app on the iPhone. For that, you need to add a Text Size toggle in the Control Centre to customize the text size.
Navigate to Settings > Control Centre and add Text toggle. From now on, whenever you feel the text is too small or big in an app, you can reveal the Control Centre and change the text size for the app.
12. Add Two-Factor Authentication to Passwords
The default password manager on iPhone is getting a new trick. Starting with iOS 15, users can set up two-factor authentication for any app that supports it.
For example, you can open Facebook from the Passwords menu, and it will ask you to set up a 2FA code for better security. You no longer need a separate 2FA app on your iPhone to get the codes.
13. Auto Convert to Tags
iOS 15 debuts tags support for the Apple Notes app. Use # tags and start organizing your Apple Notes like a pro.
You have trouble creating tags in Apple Notes, you can enable Auto Convert to Tag from the Settings > Apple Notes menu. Typing a space automatically converts #text to tag.
14. Enable Shared with You Per App
Share with You is another function that Apple added with the iOS 15 update. You can see all the shared pictures, Apple Music tracks, Apple TV links, and Safari web links from a dedicated ‘Shared with you’ section in the respective apps.
The Shared with You section gets data from the iMessage conversations. It won’t work with third-party apps, though.
You need to enable Shared with You for certain apps, though. Go to Settings > Messages > Shared with You and enable it for Music, TV, Safari, and Photos.
15. Change Address Bar Position in Safari
This is unusual from Apple. The company normally doesn’t give such customization options for default apps. However, after facing some backlash from beta users over the Safari redesign, Apple has had a change of heart.
iOS 15 moves the Safari address bar at the bottom for better reachability. If you are not a fan of change, you can revert it to the original position from the Settings menu. Go to Settings > Safari > Tabs and select Single Tab.
16. Manage Safari Extensions
The iOS 15 update debuts Safari extensions for the iPhone. You will soon see yourself using several extensions in the Safari app for iPhone.
You can manage the installed extensions by going into Settings > Safari > Extensions menu.
17. Enable SharePlay for FaceTime
FaceTime gets the biggest feature boost with iOS 15. One of them is the ability to watch movies and listen to music with SharePlay.
You can enable the feature from Settings > FaceTime > SharePlay menu.
18. Invite Family Members to iCloud+ Menu
You can easily share new iCloud+ plans with family members. Go to Settings > Family Sharing > More to Share > iCloud+ and invite family members to your iCloud+ plan.
Sharing a storage plan doesn’t mean other members have access to any of your photos, documents, or data. So don’t worry about that.
19. New Reset Menu
The Reset menu in the Settings app gets a welcome redesign. From the Settings > General > Reset, and you will be greeted with a new Reset menu.
20. Transfer iPhone
If you plan to move from your old iPhone to a new one, the Transfer menu in the Settings > General can be useful to you.
It will do all the heavy lifting and transfer your data from the old iPhone to the new one. Apple will also grant you additional iCloud storage where needed.
iOS 15 is more than some changes in the Settings app. There are over 80+ features in iOS 15, including some neat privacy and security add-ons. Which is your favorite setting trick? Sound off in the comments section below.
