Prevent Cross-Site Tracking
Cross-Site tracking is where websites place cookies on your device which other websites can then read. This essentially means the websites are tracking your movements around the internet. Have you ever been searching for something online, browsed a few websites, then gone to Facebook and an ad for that same thing pops up in your news feed? That’s Cross-Site tracking doing its thing. That’s why its a good idea to enable this setting and stop sites from tracking you.
Hide IP address
Your IP address is the unique number that identifies you when you are online. This setting means Safari will automatically protect your IP address from known trackers by hiding it.
Block All Cookies
Turn this option on to prevent websites from adding cookies to your iPhone. In some cases this may not be the best idea though as some sites legitimately need to save cookies. It just depends on the website though. Toggle this on and see if the website you use still function correctly. If not, disable it and just leave “Prevent Cross-Site Tracking” enabled.
Fraudulent Website Warning
Safari displays a warning if you’re visiting a suspected phishing website. Phishing website are the ones that get setup to mimic the important websites you use and steal your login details. Behind the scenes, Apple keep a list of known fraudulent websites and enabling this will present a warning if you try to load the website.
Privacy Preserving Ad Measurement
From the Apple documentation: “This prevents websites from viewing your personal information to serve you targeted ads.”. This sounds good, but in reality, even though having this enabled does provide anonymity it is still logging your clicks and reporting back. Disabling this means nothing is tracked or sent at all. Make sure it is disabled.
Check for Apple Pay
This allows websites that use Apple Pay can check to see if you have Apple Pay enabled on your device. This means the website can then allow the relevant Apple Pay systems to run. If you use Apple Pay, leave it on. If you don’t, turn this option off to prevent websites from checking if you have Apple Pay.