Apple Releases New Feature to Foil Crooks

The feature is called, very simply, STOLEN DEVICE PROTECTION and that is what it helps do.

Will it stop crooks from stealing your phone? No. Will it make your phone less resalable (except for parts), yes. Fact is that a lot of iPhones are shipped to Asia and torn down for parts which are then sold, so this is not a silver bullet, yet it is a cool feature.

If enabled, the Stolen Device Protection feature makes it difficult for iPhone thieves to switch certain features on or off and perform certain actions if your iPhone is not at a familiar location such as your home or work place. Note that it is not enabled by default.

Assuming a crook swipes your phone out of your hand on the street (yes, this is a thing and it is happening). They now have an unlocked phone.

With Stolen Phone Protection ON, they won’t be able to:

• Use passwords or passkeys saved in Keychain or Safari
• Turn off lost mode
• Erase all contents
• Use your phone to set up a new device
• Apply for an Apple card, view your Apple card or do certain Apple cash things.

Why? Because with this on, if your phone is not in a familiar location, Apple will require the hacker to authenticate him or herself with biometrics – Face or Touch ID.

It also forces a delay of one hour before allowing certain changes – enough time for you to invoke find my phone and wipe it, among other features.

You can change it in SETTINGS, FACE ID & PASSCODE, ENTER YOUR DEVICE PASSCODE, TAP TO TURN STOLEN DEVICE PROTECTION ON.

Pretty cool and it is free with iOS 17.3.

As I said, not a silver bullet, but it will make your stolen phone less attractive to thieves.

Credit: Help Net Security

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