Current:Home > InvestHow To Tech: Why it’s important to turn on Apple’s new Stolen Device Protection-InfoLens
How To Tech: Why it’s important to turn on Apple’s new Stolen Device Protection
View Date:2024-12-23 12:43:14
LONDON (AP) — You’re in a crowded bar when a thief watches you unlock your iPhone with your passcode, then swipes it. That sinking feeling hits when you realize it’s gone, along with priceless photos, important files, passwords on banking apps and other vital parts of your digital life.
Apple rolled out an update to its iOS operating system this week with a feature called Stolen Device Protection that makes it a lot harder for phone thieves to access key functions and settings. Users are being urged to turn it on immediately.
Here’s how to activate the new security option and why it’s so important:
SHOULD I TURN ON STOLEN DEVICE PROTECTION?
The software update for iPhones and iPads includes the essential new feature designed to foil thieves from wiping phones for resale or accessing Apple ID or other important accounts. Stolen Device Protection is a new setting that’s included with the latest iOS release, version 17.3.
Apple says the feature, buried in your iPhone’s settings, adds an extra layer of security for users. It addresses a vulnerability that thieves have discovered and exploited: allowing them to lock victims out of their Apple accounts, delete their photos and other files from their iCloud accounts and empty their bank accounts by accessing passwords kept in the Keychain password manager.
Apple is introducing the feature as anecdotal evidence suggests phone thefts are surging. Stories of stolen phones abound on Reddit groups and in news articles in places from Los Angeles to London, where police say pickpocketing, “table surfing” and moped snatching are common tactics.
The Wall Street Journal reported last year how criminals watched people use their passcodes to gain access to their personal information after stealing their phones.
HOW DOES STOLEN DEVICE PROTECTION WORK?
Stolen Device Protection keeps track of a user’s “familiar locations,” such as their home or workplace, and adds extra biometric security hoops to jump through if someone tries to use the device to do certain things when it’s away from those places.
It also reduces the importance of passcodes, which thieves can steal by peering over someone’s shoulder or threatening and forcing victims to hand them over, in favor of “biometric” features such as faces or fingerprints that are a lot harder to duplicate.
Let’s say the bar thief that snatched your iPhone tries to erase its contents and settings to sell it. With Stolen Device Protection turned on, the phone will now require a Face ID or Touch ID scan to verify that person is the rightful owner.
And that’s the only way — the new feature doesn’t let someone use the passcode or any other backup method.
Other actions that will trigger this feature if it’s not at a familiar place include using passwords saved in Keychain or payment methods saved in Safari, turning off Lost Mode, applying for a new Apple Card or using the iPhone to set up a new device.
There’s also a second layer designed to slow down thieves trying to access critical security settings. If someone tries to, say, sign out of an Apple ID account, change the passcode or reset the phone while it’s in an unfamiliar location, they’ll have to authenticate using Face ID or Touch ID, wait an hour, then do a second facial or fingerprint scan.
Changing an Apple ID password, updating Apple ID security settings, adding or removing Face or Touch ID, and turning off the Find My device feature or Stolen Device Protection also will trigger this feature.
“The security delay is designed to prevent a thief from performing critical operations so that you can mark your device as lost and make sure your Apple account is secure,” the company said. “When your iPhone is in a familiar location, these additional steps will not be required and you can use your device passcode like normal.”
HOW DO I ACTIVATE STOLEN DEVICE PROTECTION?
It’s simple — if you know where to look.
First, download and update your iPhone or iPad with the latest iOS update. Then go to your settings, scroll down to “Face ID & Passcode” or “Touch ID & Passcode” and enter your passcode. Scroll down and you’ll see Stolen Device Protection.
Depending on your iPhone model, you’ll need to tap or toggle to turn it on or off. Make sure you’ve first activated two-factor authentication and Find My device for your Apple ID account, or it won’t show up.
WHAT DEVICES DOES IT APPLY TO?
IPhone XS and newer models, including second- and third-generation SE models.
veryGood! (35143)
Related
- Mississippi expects only a small growth in state budget
- Massachusetts governor pledges to sign sweeping maternal health bill
- What is ‘price gouging’ and why is VP Harris proposing to ban it?
- Mississippi poultry plant settles with OSHA after teen’s 2023 death
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Mixed Use
- Her name was on a signature petition to be a Cornel West elector. Her question: What’s an elector?
- Noah Lyles claps back at Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill: 'Just chasing clout'
- Hurricane Ernesto makes landfall on Bermuda as a category 1 storm
- Fate of Netflix Series America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Revealed
- Meet Literature & Libations, a mobile bookstore bringing essential literature to Virginia
Ranking
- Taking stock of bonds: Does the 60/40 rule still have a role in retirement savings?
- Tingling in your fingers isn't uncommon – but here's when you should see a doctor
- Velasquez pleads no contest to attempted murder in shooting of man charged with molesting relative
- Hurricane Ernesto makes landfall on Bermuda as a category 1 storm
- Vermont man is fit to stand trial over shooting of 3 Palestinian college students
- Russian artist released in swap builds a new life in Germany, now free to marry her partner
- Watch: Patrick Mahomes makes behind-the-back pass after Travis Kelce messes up route
- Jennifer Garner Proves She's Living Her Best Life on Ex Ben Affleck's Birthday
Recommendation
-
GM recalling big pickups and SUVs because the rear wheels can lock up, increasing risk of a crash
-
Who plays Emily, Sylvie, Gabriel and Camille in 'Emily in Paris'? See full Season 4 cast
-
2.9 billion records, including Social Security numbers, stolen in data hack: What to know
-
The Democratic National Convention is here. Here’s how to watch it
-
Don't Miss Cameron Diaz's Return to the Big Screen Alongside Jamie Foxx in Back in Action Trailer
-
Haley Joel Osment Reveals Why He Took a Break From Hollywood In Rare Life Update
-
Infant dies after being discovered 'unresponsive' in hot vehicle outside Mass. day care
-
A Kansas high school football player dies from a medical emergency. It's the 3rd case this month.