If it is a thief Ever had your iPhone stolen from your bag or even snatched from your grasp and panic immediately sets in. You may also have more to worry about than just the cost of replacing your phone. What if they see me entering my password and now have easy access to all my messages, photos, and sensitive information? While it certainly sucks to have your smartphone bitten, turning on Apple Stolen Device Protection can instantly cut down on thieves' access to your smartphone's data. This feature is not automatically enabled and needs to be activated before a crime occurs.
Sneaky Device Protection, originally released as part of iOS 17.3, adds an extra layer of security to your smartphone every time the device is somewhere you don't visit regularly. Here's a quick guide to the software's features and the necessary steps to turn it on.
For an in-depth look at Apple's anti-theft software, check out Wired Security reporter Matt Burgess's article on last year's feature. If you have an Android phone, read my guide to using the Android theft detection feature.
This feature is designed specifically for situations where a criminal not only takes advantage of your iPhone but also knows your passcode and can unlock the device. Stolen device protection security measures start to kick in when they take your phone away from you and take it to a location you don't frequently visit.
The main thing about the feature trigger is that it starts asking your Face ID biometrics to access any sensitive features on your phone, such as using keychain passcodes, viewing stored payment information in Safari, and disabling Lost Mode. Even if a thief knows your password, it will no longer be used as a backup option. Full access requires face ID. This also prevents thieves from easily wiping all data from the phone so they can sell it, as that process also requires FaceID.
In addition to forcing biometric verification, Stolen Device Protection adds a security delay period for changing your phone's security features. For example, if a thief wants to check out your Apple ID or turn off my iPhone, they can't hold the phone in front of your face for a few seconds while fleeing the crime scene. With the feature's automatic security delay, you must wait an hour before making major security changes to your device, and you must confirm biometrics at the beginning and at the end of the process.
Before you turn on stolen device protection, you first need to set up some other basic features on your smartphone. You may already have Face ID enabled on your Apple device and have a passcode enabled, both of which are required for the feature to work.
Next, you need to check if your Apple ID has two-factor authentication enabled, which is a good idea even if you don't use stolen device protection. Check if you have passed set upclick your name at the top and select Login and security tab. You should check to see if 2FA for your Apple ID in the middle of this screen is on or off.
The last software feature you need to activate on your iPhone is important location. This tracks the places you visit regularly, so your phone can detect whether it's somewhere familiar or unfamiliar. According to Apple, the data is end-to-end encrypted and is not read by the company. A bit buried in the menu - find it by opening set upThen Privacy and securityand location services. After that, keep scrolling down until you see System services tab. choose important locationand you may be prompted to unlock using face ID. On the next page, move the toggle to the right to complete the feature.
ph! OK, now you're ready to start using stolen device protection. And, luckily, after all the prep work, the final step is a breeze. Open set up again Face ID and Passwordand fill in your password. Scroll approximately halfway down the page and select Stolen device protection tab and then switch to the toggle on the right.