iPhone Settings: Quick Hacks to Make Your Phone Faster, Safer and Last Longer

If you’ve ever felt your iPhone slowing down or draining battery too fast, the answer is often hidden in the settings menu. You don’t need to jailbreak or install weird apps – just tweak a few built‑in options and you’ll notice a big difference.

Boost Battery Life with Simple Toggles

First, open Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging. Turn on Optimized Battery Charging so the phone learns your charging routine and stops charging at 80% until you need it. Next, head to Settings > Display & Brightness and switch the brightness to “Auto” or lower it manually. Reducing screen timeout to 30 seconds (Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto‑Lock) also saves power.

Another easy win is to disable background app refresh for apps you rarely use. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and select “Wi‑Fi” or turn it off completely. This stops apps from pulling data when you’re not looking at them, cutting down battery drain.

Privacy and Security Settings You Shouldn’t Ignore

Privacy leaks often happen because we grant apps more permissions than needed. In Settings > Privacy & Security, review each category – Location, Microphone, Camera – and set them to “While Using the App” or “Never” for apps that don’t need constant access.

Turn on Find My iPhone (Settings > your name > Find My) and enable Send Last Location. This helps you locate the device if it’s lost and can also trigger an automatic lock when the battery is about to die.

Finally, enable two‑factor authentication for your Apple ID (Settings > your name > Password & Security). It adds a second layer of protection without extra hassle.

Beyond battery and privacy, a few more settings can speed up everyday use. Disable unnecessary visual effects by going to Settings > Accessibility > Motion and turning on Reduce Motion. This cuts down animation load and makes the UI feel snappier.

If you notice apps crashing, clear their cache by reinstalling them or use Settings > General > iPhone Storage to offload unused apps. Offloading keeps data but frees up space, which helps the system run smoother.

Need faster app launches? Turn off “App Library Suggestions” in Settings > Siri & Search. Fewer background suggestions mean less RAM usage.

All these tweaks are easy to reverse if you change your mind, but trying them now can add hours of battery life and make your iPhone feel fresh again. The best part? You’re using features Apple built right into iOS, so nothing risky is involved.

Keep this page bookmarked and revisit whenever iOS updates roll out – new settings often hide in plain sight, waiting for you to discover them.