What the green and orange dots mean on an iPhone

What changed: new screenshots from our iPhone 17e on iOS 27.0.1, dark mode, and the wording checked against those screens.

howtosimply.com/guides/what-the-green-and-orange-dots-mean-on-an-iphone/ · Checked October 2026 · iPhone 17e · iOS 27.0.1

4 of 4 steps with real screenshots · 2 official sources below

Device

iPhone

Shown on

iOS 27.0.1 (iPhone 17e)

App

Camera

Real screenshots

4 of 4 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

2 official, linked below

Step by step

1. 

   Green dot: the camera is on

   With the camera in use, a green dot appears at the top of the screen. It stays as long as the app uses the camera. On our iPhone 17e it showed at the top of the Camera app, towards the right.

   Done

2. 

   Open Control Centre to see which app

   Swipe down from the top right corner. At the top, the app's name appears next to camera, microphone and location symbols: Camera on our phone.

   Done

3. 

   Orange dot: the microphone is on

   An orange dot means an app is using the microphone, for example during a call or a voice memo. On ours it showed at the top of the Home Screen while a Voice Memos recording ran.

   Done

4. 

   Do not recognise the app?

   Close the app, then take away its access: Settings, Privacy & Security, Camera or Microphone, and switch the app off. On our iPhone 17e the Microphone page listed only App Clips, because no app had asked for the microphone yet.

   Done

What changed: new screenshots from our iPhone 17e on iOS 27.0.1, dark mode, and the wording checked against those screens.

If you do not see this option

• You see an orange square, not a dot. Apple says the orange indicator is a square when Differentiate Without Colour is on, under Settings, Accessibility, Display & Text Size. Source: About the orange and green indicators in your iPhone status bar
• The app is not in the Camera or Microphone list. Apple says the list shows the apps that have asked for access. An app that never asked is not listed. Source: Control access to hardware features on iPhone
• There are no dots at all. Apple says the indicators need iOS 14 or later. Source: About the orange and green indicators in your iPhone status bar

If this does not work

• Control Centre names an app you already closed. Apple says the message at the top of Control Centre shows an app that has recently used the camera or microphone, not only one using it now. Source: Control access to hardware features on iPhone
• The dot is green and you want to block the microphone too. Apple says green means the camera, or the camera and microphone together. Check the app in both the Camera and the Microphone lists. Sources: About the orange and green indicators in your iPhone status bar, Control access to hardware features on iPhone

About this guide

The dots are a privacy feature: the iPhone always shows them while the camera or microphone is in use, so an app cannot record you secretly.

The screenshots are our own, taken on an iPhone 17e running iOS 27.0.1, in dark mode. We opened the Camera app, then Control Centre, then made a test recording in Voice Memos, which we deleted.

Good to know

A dot during a phone or FaceTime call, or while you dictate, is normal.

Apple says a green dot means the camera, or the camera and the microphone together.

In short: Green dot: camera. Orange dot: microphone. Control Centre shows which app.

📷 See real photos from the iPhone 17e in our Camera Lab, next to 10 other phones.