If a thief already steal one iPhone out of your bag or even snatches it from your hand, panic sets in immediately. You might also have a lot more to worry about than just the cost of replacing the phone. What if they saw me enter the password and now they had easy access to all my messages, photos and sensitive information? While it really sucks to have your smartphone stolen, enabling Apple’s stolen device protection can immediately stop thieves from accessing your smartphone data. This feature is not automatically enabled and must be enabled before the crime occurs.
First released in iOS 17.3, Stolen Device Protection essentially adds an extra layer of security to your smartphone whenever the device is in a location you don’t regularly visit. Here’s a quick guide to what the software feature does and the steps needed to enable it.
For more on Apple’s anti-theft software, visit WIRED Security Reporter Matt Burgess’s article about last year’s feature. If you have an Android phone, read my user guide Android Theft Detection features.
What does stolen device protection do?
This feature is specially designed for situations where a criminal not only takes your iPhone, but also knows your password and can unlock the device. When they physically take your phone away from you and take it to a place you don’t visit frequently, then the Security measures to protect stolen devices start to intervene.
The main thing the feature triggers is that it starts requiring your Facial ID biometrics to access all sensitive features of the phone, like using your keychain passwords, viewing your payment information stored in Safari, and turning off 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 erasing all your data from the phone so they can sell it, as this procedure also requires FaceID.
In addition to forcing biometric authentication, Stolen Device Protection adds a security delay for changes to the phone’s security features. If the thief wants to log out of your Apple ID or disable Find my iPhonefor example, they can’t just hold the phone in front of your face for a few seconds while fleeing the crime scene. With the feature’s automatic security timeout, you must wait an hour to make major security changes to the device, and you must confirm your biometrics at the beginning as well as at the end of this process.
How can I turn it on?
Before you can enable stolen device protection, you must first configure a few other basic features on your smartphone. You probably already have Face ID and a passcode enabled on your Apple device. Both of these are necessary for the feature to work.
Next, you will need to check if two-factor authentication is activated for your Apple IDwhich is a good idea even if you don’t use stolen device protection. Check if you’re already using it by going to Settingsby pressing your name at the top, then choosing the Connection and security tongue. You should see whether 2FA for your Apple ID is enabled or disabled in the middle of this screen.
The last software feature you need to enable on iPhone is Important Locations. This helps keep track of places you visit regularly, so your phone can detect whether it’s in a familiar or unfamiliar location. According to Applethe data is end-to-end encrypted and is not read by the company. Important locations are a little buried in the menus: find them by opening SettingsSO Privacy and securityAnd Location Services. After that, scroll down until you see the System Services tongue. Select Important placesand you’ll probably be prompted to unlock it with Face ID. On the next page, move the toggle to the right to complete enabling the feature.
Phew! OK, now you are ready to start using Stolen Device Protection. And, lucky for you, after all that prep work, the last step is a breeze. Open Settings again, then Face ID and passcodeand fill in your password. Scroll to the middle of the page, choose the Protecting Stolen Devices and move this toggle to the right.