With Safety Check, starting in iOS 16, you can quickly reset sharing access on your iPhone to help you disconnect from people, apps, and devices you no longer want to be connected to. This can be helpful if your personal safety is at risk.

How to use safety check on iPhone

In Settings, scroll down and tap Privacy & Security. Then scroll down and tap Safety Check. If at any point in the process you need to quickly conceal what you’re doing, you can tap Quick Exit in the upper-right corner. This will save any changes you’ve made and bring you immediately back to the Home Screen, and no one will be able to locate where you last were in Settings.

If your personal safety is at risk, you can tap Emergency Reset to immediately remove access for all people and apps. After completing the steps, your location will no longer be shared in Find My. Your privacy permissions for all apps will be reset, and Messages and FaceTime will be limited to only the device in your hand. Or when you want to explore what you’re sharing in more detail, you can tap Manage Sharing & Access to review and remove access on a person-by-person basis. You can also review app access as well.

Manage Sharing & Access

Tap Continue when you’re ready to start. All of your changes will be saved as you go through the process. First, you’ll be asked to review who you are sharing information with. To stop sharing all information with someone specific, tap their name and tap Review Sharing. Then select which information you would like to stop sharing with this person. Tap Stop Sharing and tap Stop Sharing again to confirm. Keep in mind that people may notice if you stop sharing your information with them.

If you want to take another look at who you’re sharing with, tap Review More People. You can sort this list by information that’s being shared, if you prefer, like your location, photo albums, or your calendar. Just tap the Information tab, select a category, tap Review Sharing, and select anyone you would like to stop sharing this information with. Then tap Stop Sharing and tap Stop Sharing Location to confirm. Tap Continue to move on to the next step.

Stop sharing access with apps

Next, you can review which apps you are sharing access with. You can sort your shared information by the app’s name or by the type of information. To stop sharing, tap an app to select it and tap Stop App Access.

Disconnect devices

Tap Continue to move on. Here you’ll find a list of devices currently signed in with your Apple ID. To remove a device from your account, like a shared iPad, select it in the list, tap Remove Selected Devices, and tap Remove Devices to confirm.

Final steps

Next, you’ll have the option to change your Apple ID password if you need to. Just tap Update Password. You can change your password any time in Settings if you’d like to do so later. Now, review your Emergency Contacts list. Tap the red minus sign next to a person’s name to remove them, and then tap Delete to confirm.

To add someone, you trust as a new emergency contact, tap the green add button which looks like a plus sign. Choose a contact and select their relationship to you. Tap Continue to move on. Next, you can update your device passcode if you need to. Just follow the prompts or tap Skip to move ahead. You can change your passcode any time in Settings.

When Safety Check is complete, you’ll find additional considerations for how you can protect your privacy and personal safety. Safety Check might also prompt you with options to review trusted phone numbers or to reset Face ID or Touch ID. Your account changes are saved and already active. Tap Done when you’re finished. You can tap Quick Exit in the upper-right corner to leave Safety Check and return to the Home Screen. For more help understanding the privacy and security settings for your Apple devices, visit Personal Safety User Guide at apple.co/safety