How to Revoke Access from Untrusted Apps on iPhone

ByScarlet iOS Team Updated on

Installed an app you are not sure about, or think a sideloaded app has more access than it should? This guide walks through every way to take access away from an untrusted app on iPhone, from switching off a single permission to deleting the app, removing the certificate it came with and checking for configuration profiles. The Settings paths are for iOS 26 and come from Apple’s iPhone User Guide. Updated October 27, 2026.

The Short Version

  • One permission: Settings > Privacy & Security, tap the category (for example Contacts or Location Services) and turn the app off.
  • Everything one app can use: Settings > Apps, tap the app.
  • See what apps actually do: Settings > Privacy & Security > App Privacy Report.
  • Review all sharing at once: Settings > Privacy & Security > Safety Check.
  • Remove the app: touch and hold it, tap Remove App, then Delete App.
  • Remove the certificate and profiles: Settings > General > VPN & Device Management.

Step 1: Turn Off Permissions

The least disruptive step is to take away specific permissions while keeping the app installed.

By permission type

  1. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security.
  2. Tap a category, such as Location Services, Contacts, Photos, Camera, Microphone, Bluetooth or Local Network.
  3. You see the apps that asked for that access. Turn access off for the app, or choose a lower level such as Never for location.

This view is the fastest way to check which apps have one sensitive permission.

By app

  1. Go to Settings > Apps (since iOS 18, apps are listed there instead of at the bottom of the main Settings screen).
  2. Tap the app.
  3. Turn off any access you do not want it to have, such as Location, Photos, Camera, Microphone, Cellular Data or Background App Refresh.

Tracking

Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking and turn off tracking for the app. To stop all apps from asking, turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track at the top.

Apple notes that an app using the camera shows a green indicator, and an app using Location Services shows an arrow in the status bar. If you see them when you are not using the app, check its permissions.

Step 2: Check What the App Has Been Doing

Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > App Privacy Report. If it is off, turn it on. Apple says the report shows how apps use the permissions you granted and their network activity, including which domains they contact. Let it collect data for a few days, then look for apps that use permissions or contact domains you do not expect. To turn it off and delete its data, tap Turn Off App Privacy Report on the same screen.

Step 3: Review Everything with Safety Check

Safety Check reviews what you share with people, apps and devices in one place. Apple says it can stop location sharing in Find My, remove others’ access to shared content, and reset system privacy permissions for apps.

  1. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Safety Check.
  2. Tap Manage Sharing & Access, tap Continue and follow the steps.

In an emergency, the same screen has Emergency Reset, which quickly resets access to your device and personal information. Apple notes that Safety Check cannot review everything, for example accounts and passwords or what you shared from another device.

Step 4: Delete the App

  • From the Home Screen: touch and hold the app, tap Remove App, then tap Delete App. (Remove from Home Screen only hides it in App Library; it does not delete it.)
  • From App Library: touch and hold the app, tap Delete App, then tap Delete.

Deleting an app deletes the data stored inside it on the iPhone. Data the app stored on its own servers or in iCloud is not removed this way; see Step 6.

If you only want to keep others out of an app rather than remove it, iOS also lets you lock or hide an app: touch and hold it and choose to require Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. That limits people, not the app’s permissions.

Step 5: Remove the Certificate and Profiles

Enterprise or developer certificates

If the app was installed with an enterprise or developer certificate, other apps signed with the same certificate stay trusted after you delete one app.

  1. Go to Settings > General > VPN & Device Management.
  2. Under Enterprise App or Developer App, tap the certificate you want to remove.
  3. Tap Delete App and confirm. iOS has no separate “revoke trust” button; deleting the apps removes the trust entry.

This deletes every app signed with that certificate, so do it when you no longer trust the source as a whole. See how trusting certificates works for the background.

Configuration profiles

Some apps or websites ask you to install a configuration profile. Apple’s guide says installed profiles are listed in Settings > General > VPN & Device Management, and that deleting a profile also deletes all settings, apps and data associated with it.

  1. Go to Settings > General > VPN & Device Management.
  2. Look for any configuration profile you do not recognize.
  3. Tap it, tap Remove Profile and enter your passcode if asked.

A profile you do not remember installing is a red flag: profiles can change network and VPN settings and add certificates. If a profile belongs to your work or school, ask them before removing it. On the same screen, tap VPN and check for VPN configurations you did not add.

Step 6: Remove the App’s Data from iCloud

Apps signed with a shared enterprise certificate usually cannot use iCloud, but apps from the App Store and some apps signed with your own Apple ID can. To remove an app’s iCloud Backup data, as described in Apple’s iCloud storage article:

  1. Open Settings, tap your name, then tap iCloud.
  2. Tap Storage (or Manage Account Storage), then Backups, and tap this iPhone.
  3. Turn off the app and tap Turn Off. That removes its backup data from iCloud.

If you created an account inside the app, delete that account through the app’s own website or support, too.

Step 7: If You Think the App Was Malicious

  • Change passwords for accounts you used while the app was installed, starting with your Apple Account and email.
  • Turn on two-factor authentication for important accounts.
  • Check account activity in your email, bank and social accounts for logins you do not recognize.
  • Check other recent installs, especially from the same source.
  • Update iOS in Settings > General > Software Update.

Last Resort: Erase the iPhone

If you believe the device is seriously compromised, erase it. Back up first, then go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings, enter your passcode or Apple Account password and confirm. Apple’s guide says this restores the iPhone to factory settings. When you set it up again, consider restoring only your data and reinstalling apps from trusted sources rather than restoring everything from a backup made while the suspicious app was installed.

Prevention

The best protection is not installing untrusted apps in the first place. Download IPAs only from sources you trust, check files first with our guide to scanning IPA files for malware, and read is iOS sideloading safe? for the wider picture. Be careful with websites that ask you to install a profile; see enterprise certificate safety.

FAQ

Does deleting an app remove its permissions?

Yes. Its permissions on the iPhone go with it. If you install it again, it has to ask again.

Does deleting a sideloaded app remove its certificate?

Not if other apps use the same certificate. Remove the certificate’s entry in VPN & Device Management to delete all of them.

Where did per-app settings go?

Since iOS 18 they are in Settings > Apps instead of at the bottom of the main Settings list.

What does Safety Check’s Emergency Reset do?

Apple describes it as a way to quickly reset access to your device and personal information in an emergency. For a calmer review, use Manage Sharing & Access instead.

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