Viral warnings on social media claim that an iPhone setting called “Journaling Suggestions” has been covertly enabled and that it broadcasts both a user’s full name and exact location to nearby strangers.
An example of the warning as it appeared on social media is below.
ALERT. If you have an iPhone, this is important! After my latest update, there was a new feature downloaded called “Journaling,” and it’s under “Settings,” “Privacy and Security” and then scroll all the way down and there’s a new “feature” called “Journaling Suggestions.” Look for the “DISCOVERABLE BY OTHERS” toggle. I bet it’s toggled to ON, and it let’s anyone near you know your FULL NAME and EXACTLY where you’re geo located. Go toggle that OFF!! I’m typing all of this. This is messed up big time. Share with your friends if they’re iPhone. Very scary stuff!! PSA … CHECK YOUR IPHONES.
Panicked and alarmist messages warning about alleged privacy invasions are nothing new, and more often than not, they’re neither accurate or helpful. Yes, privacy issues on social media is an important topic and something we all need to be keenly aware of, but misinformation only serves to muddy the waters of an often complex topic.
And this warning is just that, misinformation. No, the setting “Journaling Suggestions” doesn’t broadcast your name or location to anyone. In fact the warning is reminiscent of a similar warning about a new iPhone feature called NameDrop that spread in November 2023.
What is the setting “Journaling Suggestions”?
It’s a feature to the new Apple Journal app, which was automatically added to iPhone’s during the iOS 17.2 update at the end of 2023. The Journal app allows iPhone users to create journal entries, either manually by opening the app and typing away, or by pulling information from other installed apps (such as fitness apps) that support that type of sharing.
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With the brand new Journal app came with it a slew of new settings, located in Settings > Privacy & Security > Journaling Suggestions. In that section is several settings that dictate how and where the Journal app can derive suggestions for potential new journal entries. It’s the setting Discoverable by Others that is the center of this misleading viral warning, which claims that if enabled, will cause an iPhone to broadcast your name and location to strangers.
But that isn’t the case at all. In fact the setting merely allows your device to be picked up (via Bluetooth) by other iPhones in order to suggest moments potentially worthy of a journal entry. For example, if you’re in close proximity to lots of devices and lots of contacts, the Journal app can pick up on that and suggest it as a moment for the journal (since it suggests you were at some type of social event.) But because your device is being picked up by others in this way, it doesn’t mean your name or location is being “broadcast to strangers” (or anyone) as the viral warning claims. In fact the Apple About section describing the feature explicitly claims that is not the case.
Journaling Suggestions may also use contextual information to determine which suggestions may be more meaningful or relevant to you. Journaling Suggestions uses Bluetooth to detect the number of devices and contacts around you without storing which of these specific contacts were around. This information is used to improve and prioritize your suggestions. It is stored on device, and is not shared with Apple.
Additionally this all happens in the background of your phone. There is no accessible list of people or devices that a person can see as a result of having this setting enabled.
With that said, if you don’t like the idea of contributing to the journaling suggestions of others based on your location or proximity to them, then you can disable the setting without too much trouble using the instructions in the warning.
As for the warning itself, it’s alarmist and misleading, and we don’t recommend sharing it.
