Smartphones hold an enormous amount of personal information and play a central role in our personal and business lives. Yet many users rarely revisit their settings after the initial setup, even as apps, software updates and changing habits can affect what data is collected, which features have access to it and how the device behaves.
Periodically reviewing key settings and content can help users spot outdated permissions, unnecessary access and other issues that may affect privacy, security or even efficiency. Here, Forbes Technology Council members share essential checkup and cleanup items smartphone users should regularly review to boost their devices’ security and performance.
Unused Apps
Consumers should do a regular review and pruning of the apps on their phones. Over time, it is typical for app bloat to occur on a user’s phone, compromising performance of the device as well as raising risks for data exploitation due to app permission settings. – Mark Francis, CaregiverZone
Payment Settings In Financial Apps
Referring to the payment settings within banking apps, two critical things I would recommend are 1. disabling online and international payments and 2. setting a daily payment limit. For specific payment transactions, those settings can be changed, but they should be restored after the transaction. – Monishankar Hazra, Optum India
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Notifications
Something you should review regularly is notification creep. Constant interruptions not only disrupt our attention but also train us to ignore important alerts. Every time we get an unnecessary notification, it makes security warnings and emergency messages easier to miss. So, audit notifications for all apps regularly. – Amy Gu, Dynamsoft
‘Always On’ Location Access
I recommend reviewing which apps have “always on” location access. That permission lets an app continue collecting your location after you close it. Set it to “while using” or “ask every time” unless a background feature you rely on needs continuous access. – Kayode Faturoti, Breet
Auto-Connect To Open Wi-Fi
Audit phone apps to identify those configured to automatically connect to open Wi-Fi. Many phones silently join familiar-looking networks without user confirmation, a behavior that attackers exploit through malicious wireless access points that mimic trusted hotspots. To mitigate this risk, simply disable auto-connect and default to cellular or verified networks for sensitive tasks. This simple habit eliminates one of the most underestimated mobile attacks. – Kshitij Mahant, Cisco Systems Inc.
Phone Unlock Methods
Many people migrate their data to a new phone year after year without updating the most basic security measure—the unlock screen. If you’ve unlocked your phone with a PIN across many generations of devices and keep ignoring the prompt to add a biometric login, you’re leaving your whole phone exposed. Anyone who cracks your unlock code can get into nearly every app, from banking to social media and even your email—the keys to the kingdom. – Mark Beare, Malwarebytes
Account Recovery Chain
Trace your recovery chain. Everyone hardens the front door—passcodes, Face ID—while attackers use the back door: “forgot password.” Map where each account recovers to, and where that recovers to, until you hit the root—usually a phone number on an unlocked SIM. If the root is weak, everything above it is security theater. Audit the chain twice a year. – Lev Yatsemyrskyi, Qube Research & Technologies
Old Third-Party App Access
Review which apps have access to your default accounts—email, contacts and calendar—through third-party integrations. Most users grant these connections during onboarding and never revisit them. An app you stopped using years ago may still have permission to read your email or access your contacts. Those connections don’t expire automatically. Checking connected apps in your account settings takes minutes and closes exposure most people don’t know exists. – Dan Haiem, AppMakers USA
AI Data-Sharing Settings
Review which of your apps now ship data to AI features by default. Over the past two years, keyboards, photo apps and voice assistants quietly added AI processing, and many send what you type, say and photograph to the cloud unless you opt out. Check each app’s AI and data-sharing settings and choose on-device processing where offered. The question is no longer whether your phone listens. It’s where the answer gets computed. – Kiran Kodithala, N2N Services, Inc.
Clipboard Access
Here’s one nobody talks about: Check clipboard access on your phone. You already guard your mic and location. Your clipboard is where passwords and 2FA codes live for a few seconds, and any app with permission can read them. Once a month, go into settings and switch it off for everything except your password manager. Two minutes of work closes a door most people don’t even know is open. – Dr. Chiranjiv Roy, C5i.ai
Screen Time
I’d recommend checking your screen time or digital well-being report regularly. Your phone clearly shows which apps can access your location, but few people check which ones quietly consume hours of their week. More than ever, protecting your attention is part of protecting your time. See whether the apps you value most are the same ones taking up most of your attention. Limit or delete the rest. Take your time back. – Kostiantyn Gitko, Devox Software
Camera And Microphone Access
A useful habit is reviewing which apps have access to your camera and microphone. Overly broad permissions make it easier for malware or fake‑app overlays to capture biometric data or intercept verification flows without you noticing. – Henry Patishman, Regula
Permissions After App Updates
Review app permissions, especially location, microphone, camera, contacts and photo access. Updates and new features can quietly expand what apps collect. Remove permissions that are no longer necessary and set “only while using” access where available to reduce privacy and security exposure. – Swati Deepak Kumar (Nema), Citigroup
Password Statuses
Users should regularly review password reuse and breach alerts in their phone’s security settings or password manager. These tools identify passwords that are weak or duplicated across services as well as compromised credentials that may expose multiple accounts if one service is breached. Replacing affected passwords promptly and using unique credentials help prevent credential stuffing attacks, account takeover and wider identity theft. – Salice Thomas, Wipro Limited
Emergency Information
Review your emergency contact and medical information after every major life change. Outdated details are not only a safety problem but can also expose former employers, partners or addresses from your lock screen. Keeping this information current improves emergency response while limiting unnecessary personal disclosure. This simple quarterly review prevents forgotten digital relationships from quietly expanding your exposure while keeping everyday use. – Jagadish Gokavarapu, Wissen Infotech
Carrier Account PIN
Put a PIN on your carrier account. Your phone number is the key to most password resets, and a stranger with your name and address can talk a store clerk into moving that number to their SIM. Ask your carrier for a port-out PIN or number lock and check it once a year. It takes one call, and it blocks the attack I worry about most. – Ganesh Ariyur, Transform Smarter
Primary Email Account
Start with a strong, unique password on your email and turn on two-factor authentication, because that account is where everything else leads back to. What’s worth checking every few months is who and what still has access to it—old connected apps, a forgotten recovery number, or a session on a device you no longer use. Your email is the one account that can open so many other parts of your life. – Jenny Larsson, Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions
‘Sign In With’ Connections
Review your “Sign in with …” connections regularly. That innocent social login you used once for a dead app? It’s still a bridge to your inbox, contacts or photos. Under account settings, kill every link to apps you don’t use daily. That’s not being paranoid. A breach of a forgotten quiz app shouldn’t cascade into an identity takeover because it still holds a valid token to your primary email. – Eshaan Jain, Mphasis Silverline
Accessibility Service Access
Check to see which apps have Accessibility Service access on your phone. Many apps were originally built for users with disabilities; this permission lets an app read everything on a screen and simulate taps, exactly the actions banking trojans abuse to steal one-time codes. Few legitimate apps need it. Review Settings > Accessibility every few months and revoke anything you don’t recognize or no longer use. – Dan Sorensen, Nexus Security Advisors
