iOS 6 Quick Tip: Hidden Features

For this post, I decided to talk about some 'Hidden Features' of iOS 6 that I found both useful and impressive.  A couple of these features can be found in plain sight, however, like most people, I didn't notice them until a few days after I first got iOS 6.  The features are listed after the break.

Hidden Feature 1: Privacy Settings

This tip comes to us right on the home page.  You can tell that Apple wants people to see it.  The problem is, most people don't know what to do with it and just leave it alone.

This section of the settings app is designed to let you choose what apps can and cannot use your data.  You know those popups when you first enter an app that say something like "[Insert app name here] would like to access your contacts..."?  Well this page shows you which apps can see what organized by the service (there's even options for Facebook and Twitter).  This section is also important as Apple moved the Location Services to this page, which can be turned off if your battery is running low.

Hidden Feature 2: Do Not Disturb

This interesting little part of the settings app appears to be Apple's way of either phasing out the silent switch on the iPhone and iPad, or bringing that to the iPod Touch.  It basically does the same thing as the silent switch (silence every notification, text, or phone call that is made to your device), but it also can do it on a regular interval.

Let's say you have a job that people call you 24-7, but you want to sleep, well the do not disturb feature can be set up to turn on and off at the same time every day.  To do this, go into the notifications cell (FWI: Each row in a table in iOS is called a 'Cell') under the Do Not Disturb one.  Then tap 'Do Not Disturb'.  From here, you can turn Scheduled on and a cell will pop up with 'From' and 'To' on it.  Tap that to edit those times.  If you want, you can set it up to allow calls from everyone, no one, your favorites that are set up in the contacts app, or different groups of contacts that are in your phone.  You can also set it up to allow a second call from the same person in three minutes. 

Hidden Feature 3: VIP Mail

The mail app has a few new features (such as the new 'pull to refresh' option) but the what is probably one of the best new features to iOS 6 is also one of the least known features.  The mail app now has a feature called 'VIP,' where you can view all of your 'important' mail and ignore the rest.  This feature also adds a blue star to any VIP mail that is unread, and a gray outline of a star if it has been read.

There are two ways to set VIP up.  1)  If the email is in your contacts, first, on the Mailboxes page in the mail app, there is a cell called VIP with a star on it.  Tapping on it will allow you to view all of your VIP mail.  Tap on the blue arrow.  A page will show up called VIP List.  Tap on the 'Add VIP..." cell to add a new contact.  2)  If the email is in your inbox, first, open that email.  At the top of email, you'll see the sender's name in a blue bubble.  Tap the sender's name to pull up their card.  At the bottom of the card is the option 'Add to VIP,' tap that to add that email to VIP.

Hidden Feature 4: Post Apps or Songs to Facebook or Twitter

After upgrading to iOS 6, you might have noticed that the App Store and iTunes Store got makeovers.  While everything seems to be right there and organized, there is a somewhat hidden feature that allows you to send the link to apps on Facebook, Twitter, Mail, or Text Message.

To get there, find an app you want to tell people on the App Store, or a Song/Video on the iTunes Store.  For an app, tap the Action button (button with an arrow coming out of a square) in the right hand corner of the screen.  For Music/Videos, tap the Action button in the top right hand corner.  If you notice, there is another hidden feature right next to the Action button.  This is a history of what you viewed on the iTunes Store.

Hidden Feature 5: AMBER Alerts and Advertising

Those two normally would not go together, but they are two new options in iOS 6 that almost no one knows about.  And they are important.  The first one, Amber Alerts, is what came out of Apple teaming up with the Government Emergency Alert System (GEAS).  iPhones can now turn this feature on by going to Notifications in Settings under Government Alerts.  The second one, Advertising, is Apple's way of keeping people from being tracked by advertisers.  In iOS 6, Apple added the ability to let advertisers track what the user is doing indirectly (Apple collects the information from the device, then tells iAd what would be the most relevant ads for that user).  To keep people from getting personalized ads and being tracked, Apple also added a way for people to turn that feature off.  The problem is, it's tucked away deep in the Settings App.  To get to it, go to Settings>General>About>Advertising and turn the switch on.

Bonus Hidden Feature: Privacy Browsing in Safari

I know this is an iOS 5 feature, but I feel it didn't get as much coverage as it should have, so I'm talking about it now.  In iOS 5, Apple added a new privacy browsing feature for safari (taken from a jailbreak app with the exact same idea and color scheme, which, along with the notification center, is why I call iOS 5 'iOS Jailbroken,' as Apple stole a lot of Jailbreak Apps and made them part of the actual software).  This feature is like the one on the computer - it doesn't track cookies, history, usernames and passwords, or autofill; it also changes the bars on Safari to black instead of blue.    To turn it on, go to Settings>Safari, under 'Privacy' turn on 'Private Browsing'.