Best Smartphone Settings for Older Adults - iPhone & Android

That little grey gear icon contains everything you need to make your phone actually work for you. Most people never open it. Today we're changing that.

Let me tell you about Gerald.

Gerald is 71, lives in British Columbia, and bought himself a brand new iPhone last spring. He called it "the most expensive thing I've ever been confused by." He could barely read the text on the screen. Notifications were exploding at all hours. His location was being tracked by seventeen apps he'd never heard of. And somehow nobody is entirely sure how, he had agreed to share his contacts with a flashlight app.

A flashlight app.

Gerald is not unusual. He's actually extremely typical. Because here's the thing nobody tells you when you buy a smartphone: it comes factory-set for someone who is absolutely not you. The default text is tiny. The default privacy settings are set to "share everything with everyone." And the accessibility features that would make the whole experience dramatically better are buried so deep in the Settings menu you'd need a map and a sandwich to find them.

This post is that map. Minus the sandwich.

We're going to go through the settings that matter most, for both iPhone and Android, and by the end of it your phone is going to feel like it was actually built for you. Wild concept, I know.

First — A Note on Why the Defaults Are So Bad

Your phone's default settings aren't an accident. They're a business decision.

The companies that make smartphones and apps make money when you share your data, engage with notifications, and stay on your device as long as possible. The defaults are designed to maximize all three of those things, for them, not for you.

Every setting we're about to change is you taking something back.

Ready? Let's go.

📱 iPhone Settings — The Ones That Actually Matter

1. Make the Text Actually Readable

This sounds basic. It's also the number one thing that makes iPhones frustrating for adults 55 and over, and it takes about 45 seconds to fix.

Settings → Display & Brightness → Text Size

Drag the slider to the right until the text looks comfortable. Not squinting-slightly-comfortable. Actually comfortable.

Then turn on Bold Text on the same screen. Toggle it on. Your phone will restart briefly. The difference is immediate and significant.

If you want to go further:

Settings → Accessibility → Display & Text Size → Larger Accessibility Sizes

Turn that on, then go back to Text Size and you'll have access to even larger options. Gerald used this one. He called it "life-changing." He was not being dramatic.

2. Turn the Volume Up — For Everything That Matters

Settings → Sounds & Haptics

Drag the Ringer and Alerts slider all the way to the right. Turn on "Change with Buttons" so you can adjust quickly.

While you're here, turn on "Haptics" if it isn't already. That gentle vibration when you tap things confirms the phone actually registered your touch. Useful. Underrated.

3. Stop Apps From Tracking Your Location

This one matters quite a bit. A lot of apps request your location not because they need it, but because location data is incredibly valuable to sell.

Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services

You'll see a list of every app that has asked for your location. For most of them, tap the app name and change it to "Never" or "While Using the App."

The apps that legitimately need your location: Maps, Weather, maybe your banking app. Everyone else? They can mind their own business.

This is also covered in depth in our [free smartphone security course], worth bookmarking if you want to go through every privacy setting systematically.

4. Turn On Stolen Device Protection

We talked about this recently in our post about [the Apple scam targeting millions of iPhone users], but it's worth repeating here because it takes one minute and matters enormously.

Settings → Face ID & Passcode → Stolen Device Protection

Toggle it on. Done.

What it does; if someone steals your phone and tries to change your Apple ID password from an unfamiliar location, they hit an extra wall. It's a simple setting that adds a meaningful layer of protection.

5. Turn Off Notifications for Apps That Don't Need Them

Your phone should not feel like a slot machine.

Settings → Notifications

Go through the list. For every app that doesn't genuinely need to reach you urgently; games, shopping apps, social media, news apps, tap it and toggle "Allow Notifications" to OFF.

Keep notifications on for: phone calls, messages from real people, your banking app's fraud alerts, and anything health-related.

Turn them off for: everything else. Seriously. Everything else.

Your nervous system will thank you within approximately four hours.

6. Set Up Emergency SOS

This one is for safety, not convenience. And it's important.

Settings → Emergency SOS

Turn on "Call with Hold and Release", this means if you press and hold the side button and a volume button simultaneously, your phone automatically calls emergency services.

Also add your emergency contacts under Settings → Health → Medical ID. First responders are trained to check this on iPhones. It could genuinely matter in an emergency.

7. Turn On Two-Factor Authentication for Your Apple ID

If it isn't on already, please do this today.

Settings → [your name] → Password & Security → Two-Factor Authentication

When it's on, anyone trying to sign into your Apple account from a new device needs both your password AND a code sent to your phone. A stolen password alone isn't enough.

Not sure if your Apple ID password is even secure? Check out our post on [how to see if your email or password has been stolen], it takes about 60 seconds to find out.

🤖 Android Settings — The Ones That Actually Matter

(Note: Android menus look slightly different depending on your phone brand: Samsung, Google Pixel, Motorola, etc. The setting names are consistent but the exact path may vary slightly.)

1. Make the Text Readable

Settings → Display → Font Size and Style

Drag the font size slider to the right until it's comfortable. Most Android phones also offer a "Font Style" option, the default is fine, but some people find slightly thicker fonts easier to read.

Also turn on Display Size adjustment on the same screen — this makes icons, buttons, and everything else larger, not just text. Genuinely transforms the experience.

2. Turn On Digital Wellbeing — Then Actually Use It

Android has a built-in tool that tracks exactly how much time you're spending on each app. It's called Digital Wellbeing and it's more useful than most people realize.

Settings → Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls

You'll see a dashboard showing your daily usage broken down by app. Take a look. If the Facebook number surprises you, you're not alone. It surprises most people.

You can set daily time limits on specific apps from this same screen. Tap the hourglass icon next to any app and set a limit. When you hit it, the app icon greys out.

We have a full walkthrough on this in our post about [how to set a screen time limit on your iPhone or Android].

3. Lock Down App Permissions

Settings → Apps → [App Name] → Permissions

Go through this for every app you actually use. Check what each one has been given access to location, camera, microphone, contacts, storage.

Ask yourself, does this app actually need this? A recipe app does not need your microphone. A flashlight app, Gerald, I'm looking at you, does not need your contacts.

For anything that doesn't need a permission, tap it and select "Deny" or "Only while using the app."

4. Turn On Google Play Protect

This is Android's built-in security scanner. It checks your apps for malware automatically. Should already be on, but let's confirm.

Settings → Security → Google Play Protect → tap the gear icon → toggle both options ON

While you're in the Security settings, also check:

Settings → Security → Screen Lock

Make sure you have a PIN, pattern, or fingerprint set up. "Swipe" is not a lock. It is the phone equivalent of leaving your front door open with a "please knock" sign.

5. Set Up Emergency Information

Settings → Safety & Emergency → Medical Information

Add your name, blood type, medical conditions, medications, and emergency contacts here. Like the iPhone's Medical ID, first responders know to look for this.

Also turn on Emergency SOS on the same screen, on most Android phones, pressing the power button rapidly five times triggers an emergency call.

6. Review Google's Data Collection on You

Here's something most Android users don't know: Google has been quietly building a detailed file on everything you've done on your phone — every search, every website, your location history, everything.

You can see it and delete it at myaccount.google.com → Data & Privacy → My Activity.

We did a full deep-dive on this one [here's exactly what Google knows about you and how to delete it]. It will surprise you.

7. Turn On Two-Factor Authentication for Your Google Account

myaccount.google.com → Security → 2-Step Verification

Same principle as iPhone, requires both your password and a code sent to your phone. One of the single most effective things you can do for your overall digital security.

The Three Settings to Change Right Now If You Do Nothing Else

I know that was a lot. If you only do three things from this list, make them these:

1. Make your text bigger. On iPhone: Settings → Display & Brightness → Text Size. On Android: Settings → Display → Font Size. Just do it. Your eyes deserve this.

   
   

2. Turn off location access for apps that don't need it. On iPhone: Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services. On Android: Settings → Apps → each app → Permissions → Location. Five minutes. Significant difference.

   
   

3. Turn on two-factor authentication for your Apple ID or Google account. This one change stops the majority of account takeovers. If someone steals your password, it's not enough without your phone. That's the whole protection.

Want to Go Even Deeper?

We put together a free mini-course specifically for this, it walks through the most important security settings on your smartphone step by step, at whatever pace works for you.

No tech background needed. No jargon. Just clear, straightforward guidance built for adults 55 and over.

➡️ [Access the free smartphone security course here.]

➡️ Worried about scam calls and texts targeting your phone? [Read: CRA and IRS Phone Scams Are Targeting Seniors Right Now].

➡️ Want to know what Google actually has on your Android phone? [Read: How to See Everything Google Knows About You Right Now].

What's the one phone setting you wish someone had told you about sooner? Drop it in the comments as I read every single one, and the answers always end up helping someone else in the community too.