If a thief already steals a iphone Out of your bag or even tears it away from your hand, panic settles down immediately. You might also have much more to worry than the simple cost of replacing the phone. And if they saw me grab the password and they had now easy access To all my messages, photos and sensitive information? Even if it is really bad to get your smartphone catching, activating the protection of Apple stolen devices can immediately prevent thieves from accessing your smartphone data. This feature is not automatically activated and must be activated before the crime occurs.
Launched for the first time in iOS 17.3, Stolen Device Protection essentially adds an additional safety layer to your smartphone each time the device is in a place that you do not visit regularly. Here is a quick guide to what the software functionality and the steps necessary to activate it.
To find out more about Apple’s anti -theft software, consult the security journalist Wired Matt Burgess’s article About last year’s functionality. If you have an Android phone, read my user guide Android flight detection features.
What is the protection of stolen devices for?
This feature is specially designed for the situations in which a criminal takes not only your iPhone, but also knows your password and can unlock the device. When they physically remove your phone and bring it to a place that you do not visit frequently, then the Safety measures for the protection of stolen devices Start intervening.
The main thing that the functionality triggers is that it starts to require your Facial identification biometrics To access all sensitive telephone features, such as using your Trousseau passwords, displaying your payment information stored in Safari and deactivating the lost mode. Even if thieves know your password, it will no longer work as a backup option; Face ID becomes required for full access. This also prevents thieves from easily erased all your data from the phone in order to be able to sell it, because this procedure also requires Faceid.
In addition to forcing biometric authentication, the protection of stolen devices adds a safety time for changes to the telephone security features. If the thief wishes to disconnect from your Apple identifier or deactivate Find my iPhoneFor example, they can’t just hold the phone in front of your face for a few seconds when they flee the crime scene. With the automatic functionality security time, you must wait an hour to make major security changes to the device, and you must confirm your biometric data at the start as well as at the end of this process.
How can I turn it on?
Before you can activate the protection of stolen devices, you must first configure some other basic features on your smartphone. You’ve probably already activated Face ID and a password on your Apple device. These two elements are necessary for the functioning of the functionality.
Then you will have to check whether two -factors are authentication Activated for your Apple identifierWhich is a good idea even if you do not use the protection of stolen devices. Check if you already use it by going on Parametersby pressing Your name above, then by choosing the Connection and security tongue. You should see if 2FA for your Apple identifier is activated or deactivated in the middle of this screen.
The latest software functionality you need to activate on the iPhone concerns important locations. This allows you to keep track of the place that you visit regularly, so that your phone can detect if it is in a familiar or unknown place. According to AppleThe data is encrypted from start to finish and is not read by the company. The important locations are a little buried in the menus: find them by opening ParametersSO Confidentiality and securityAnd Location services. After that, scroll down until you see the System Services tongue. Select Important placesAnd you will probably be invited to unlock it with Face ID. On the next page, move the switch to the right to complete the activation of the functionality.
Phew! OK, you are now ready to start using stolen devices. And fortunately for you, after all this preparation work, the last step is child’s play. Open Parameters Again, then Facial identification and access codeAnd fill your password. Scroll into the middle of the page, choose the Protection of stolen devices And move this rocking to the right.
