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Almost everyone has gone through this, or might go through it eventually — it’s almost inevitable. Nobody wants it to happen, but if your iPhone has already been stolen or lost, you know how it feels. The disappointment of losing your phone, plus the fear of your information being exposed.
If you have an iPhone, stay until the end because this blog contains information that might not seem important right now. But if it happens to you, what’s said in this video could become the most important thing of your day.
What to do if your iPhone was stolen?
Having your phone stolen is stressful, especially if the thief obtains or finds your phone’s password.
If your iPhone was stolen or lost, that gives thieves access to your iCloud settings, allowing them to change your Apple ID password. This way, they can access confidential apps such as your banking apps and more.
The Apple team took on the task of addressing this in the next iOS update — version 17 — to make it harder for thieves to make those changes.
They achieved this through a new feature called “Stolen Device Protection,” which makes it harder for strangers to access your most personal data.
When this feature is enabled, your phone will block certain settings unless it’s in a familiar location, such as your home or workplace.
If someone tries to change an Apple ID password, update Apple’s security settings, or access stored passwords in Keychain, they’ll need to authenticate with Touch ID or Face ID and then wait an hour before making any changes.
In theory, this will give victims enough time to wipe their stolen phone — by accessing it from another computer or Apple device — before the thief can cause real harm.
General considerations
“Stolen Device Protection” will not protect third-party apps, so you should consider password-protecting apps with sensitive data, such as mobile payment apps, insurance apps, and other personal apps.
“Stolen Device Protection” is currently available for iOS 17.3 beta testers to try out right now.
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