If you’ve suddenly seen a green or orange dot in the status bar of your iPhone or iPad, you’ve probably wondered what it means. You might not have been worried enough to do a Google search, but here you are visiting iDownloadBlog, spotted this article, and figure now’s the time to find out.
We’ve actually covered these colored dots already. The thing is, we explained them based on a new feature in iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, not on the dots themselves. So here you go, here’s what the green and orange dots in your status bar mean.
Green dot
The green dot in your status bar means your camera is in use.
If you open the Camera app to snap a quick photo or capture a video, the green dot pops into place in your status bar.
And it’s not just an indicator that you’re using the Camera app. The green dot appears for any app that uses your iPhone or iPad camera. So if you start a Live Video on Facebook, scan a document in Notes, or snap a shot for Instagram, you’ll see the green dot.
Orange dot
The orange dot in your status bar means your microphone is in use.
So similar to the green dot for your camera, you’ll see an orange dot when you’re recording a Voice Memo, dictating a message in Slack, or making a request to Siri. Any app or service using your microphone will put the orange indicator in your status bar.
For more, check out our article where we originally told you about the green and orange dots: How to view which app is using your camera or microphone on iPhone and iPad.
More questions?
If you have questions about other things, like where to find something on your iPhone or iPad, we’ve got you covered there too.
Is there anything you’re seeing on your device since iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 rolled out that you’re curious about? Let us know – chances are, you’re not the only one with the question!