Official documentation
About the orange and green indicators in your iPhone status bar
Apple Support, 2026
Read the originalRead on October 17, 2026
- What it is
- Apple's support article explains the orange and green indicators that appear in the iPhone status bar when an app uses the microphone or the camera. The page shows a published date of May 27, 2026.
- How much weight it carries
- Official Apple documentation, checked on the date above. It explains what the indicators mean on iOS 14 and later. It does not say how a given app uses the microphone.
Facts taken from this source
- On an iPhone running iOS 14 or later, an orange indicator in the status bar means an app is using the microphone.
“An orange indicator means the microphone is being used by an app on your iPhone.” (Orange and green indicators section)
- On iPhone, the microphone indicator appears as an orange square when the Differentiate Without Color setting is turned on.
“This indicator appears as an orange square if the Differentiate Without Color setting is turned on” (Orange and green indicators section)