Day 11
Turn Off Bluetooth / NFC / Wireless
DAY 11: Turn Off Bluetooth / NFC / Wireless
Today’s lesson? It’s an easy one.
You don’t need to buy anything, install anything, or remember a password.
All I’m asking is this: turn off Bluetooth, NFC, and Wi-Fi when you’re not using them.
It’s simple. It saves battery. And yes - it helps protect your privacy.
What’s up S’mores! I’m Shannon Morse, and welcome back to Day 11 of my 30-Day Security Challenge, the month-long series designed to help you take control of your privacy and security online. Every day for the next month (with a few breaks built in), we’re tackling one small, practical thing you can do to make your online life safer.
You can follow along with the checklist and blog version over at http://shannonrmorse.com - or just hit that playlist on my channel and go day by day.
🧠 Why This Matters
Every phone, laptop, smartwatch, and connected product in your home talks wirelessly (unless it’s PoE, of course). That convenience also creates openings for tracking, spoofing, and drive-by attacks.
The good news? Apple, Google, and Microsoft have improved radio-level security a lot over the last several years but privacy still depends on user habits.
When you leave Bluetooth, NFC, or Wi-Fi on 24/7, your device broadcasts a unique identifier that can be logged by stores, airports, or anyone running a scanner. Turning those off when you don’t need them instantly makes you harder to track.
All three of these are wireless ways your phone or laptop or other devices talks to the world.
Bluetooth connects to speakers, headphones, and your car.
NFC (Near Field Communication) powers things like tap-to-pay or data sharing between phones.
Wi-Fi gets you online without using mobile data.
They’re super convenient… but here’s the problem: convenience always comes with tradeoffs.
When these are left on, your device is constantly scanning and broadcasting signals — which means anyone nearby could try to connect, track, or exploit vulnerabilities.
Step 1: Bluetooth: The Friendly Yet Flawed Connector
Bluetooth is everywhere and usually the easiest target.
Exploits like BlueBorne, BIAS, and newer BLE spoofing attacks allow bad actors to impersonate trusted devices or slip malware onto unpatched phones.
Manufacturers patch these things fast - but if your phone is old or hasn’t been updated, you might still be exposed.
So here’s what you do:
✅ Turn it off when you’re not using accessories.
On Android 15: Settings → Connected Devices → Connection Preferences → Bluetooth → Off. Or swipe down from the top of your screen to access your quick settings, and press down on the bluetooth icon to disable it.
On iOS 18: Settings → Bluetooth → Toggle Off. On Apple devices, you can also toggle Bluetooth on or off easily via your quick settings.
✅ Disable background scanning (“Improve Location Accuracy” or “Nearby Device Scanning”).
✅ If you use Bluetooth LE Find My tags, switch them to Lost Mode or disable public tracking when you’re home.
✅ Keep firmware updated on your earbuds, watches, and cars — yes, even your car’s infotainment system gets security patches now!
Step 2: NFC: Near Field Communication, Far-Reaching Risks
NFC is that feature that lets you tap your phone to pay for coffee or share a contact instantly.
It’s short-range, but that doesn’t mean safe if you leave it on in crowded areas. Someone could bump their phone against yours and send data without you noticing. Ghost Tap was an exploit that modifies NFC traffic and could steal money from cards linked to mobile wallets, for example.
✅ Turn it off unless you’re making a payment or pairing a device.
Android 15: Settings → Connected Devices → Connection Preferences → NFC → Off.
iPhones disable NFC automatically when not in use, but double-check Settings → Wallet & Apple Pay → Allow Access When Locked and toggle off if you don’t use tap-to-pay.
✅ Be cautious of “Android Beam”-style features or Quick Share links that use NFC to initiate larger data transfers.
✅ Avoid tapping random tags — airports and malls have used hidden NFC stickers for marketing, but attackers can reprogram those.
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Step 3: Wi-Fi: The Silent Oversharer
Public Wi-Fi is still the wild west in 2025. Even with HTTPS, malicious access points can still harvest metadata or push spoofed captive portals. If you’ve heard of the Wifi Pineapple from my old stomping grounds at Hak5, yeah, that’s a product that can create fake wifi networks to trick you into connecting.
Attackers can spoof networks with fake names like “Free Starbucks Wi-Fi” or “GoGo Inflight” and capture everything you send through it when you connect.
Even worse, your phone remembers networks and will try to connect to them automatically later - even when you’re nowhere near that place.
To fix that:
✅ Turn Wi-Fi off when you’re not actively connecting.
Android 15: Quick Settings → Internet → Wi-Fi → Off.
iOS 18: Control Center → Hold Wi-Fi → Off.
✅ Disable “Auto-Join Open Networks” and “Ask to Join Networks” in Wi-Fi settings.
✅ Delete saved public hotspots like coffee shops, hotels, or planes - those SSIDs can be cloned by attackers.
✅ If you must use public Wi-Fi, we’ll cover safe browsing in my VPN episode — spoiler alert, you’ll want one.
Then, only connect to Wi-Fi you trust — your home, your office, or a personal hotspot.
Step 4: Smart Features That Need Tuning
AirDrop / Quick Share: Set visibility to “Contacts Only” or “Receiving Off.” There’ve been too many “Air-Drop bombing” pranks at airports.
Digital Locks: Use passcode or biometric verification for unlocks; don’t rely on proximity alone.
Smart Home Devices: If they use Bluetooth LE mesh networks, isolate them on a guest Wi-Fi or VLAN.
Step 5: The Real-World Bonus
Besides the security boost, turning off Bluetooth, NFC, and Wi-Fi when you’re not using them also:
Saves battery life,
Reduces background tracking, and
Keeps your phone from broadcasting your presence everywhere you go.
And yes, you can take it a step further - turn these off on your laptop, tablet, smartwatch, or even your car’s infotainment system when not in use.
🌐 2025 Update: Radio Privacy Improvements
Apple Stolen Device Protection now prevents turning radios back on without Face ID.
Android Private Compute Core handles nearby-device scanning locally - turn it on in privacy settings.
Both ecosystems randomize MAC addresses by default - that’s a good thing, so keep that enabled.
And a quick note: Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) tracking beacons such as AirTags, Tile, etc. are really useful to track lost luggage, but a stalker could stick one of these in your bag to follow you. Newer Android and iOS systems can now detect these unknown AirTags. Offline Tracking Prevention is a new setting for AirTags/ Find My compatible devices. You can now scan for unknown trackers on both platforms.
Wrap-Up
And that’s Day 11!
You’ve officially gone stealth-mode — no more devices screaming “connect to me!” every few seconds.
Tomorrow for Day 12, we’ll add another crucial layer of protection: choosing and setting up anti-virus and malware-detection tools that actually work in 2025 without slowing your devices down.
Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss it, and grab the free checklist at ShannonRMorse.com. I’m Shannon Morse — stay smart, stay secure, and I’ll see ya tomorrow, S’mores! 💜🔐