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iOS 17.3 Beta Adds New Stolen Device Protection Feature to iPhone
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In the meantime look into what you can disable using content restrictions under screen time in settings. You can block a lot of things from happening behind a separate PIN code like being able to even get into iCloud settings or seeing faceid in the settings list. I keep this on pretty much all the time since that report earlier this year.
Probably THE biggest feature. They could have called the update iOS 18 and I would have had zero issues with it.
Hopefully the feature will come to iPads sooner. Apple currently cares jack squat about iPad users.
This is tremendous new feature! Earlier this year, I dealt with two customers who experienced exactly this sort theft. At a bar, someone watching them, sees their passcode. Phone left on bar, turns head, phone gone.
Hopefully, these features make such situations truly rare events.
Hopefully, these features make such situations truly rare events.
Phone left on bar, turns head, phone gone is still going to happen. Because, that’s kinda how thieves work. Folks that are inebriated will always be targets. Particularly if they have expensive products that they place in locations where they can be taken.
They’ll likely do this for iPads, eventually… I’d guess it depends on how many people leave their iPads in locations where they can be taken?
she single-handedly killed the butterfly keyboard. now this! make her an Apple Fellow stat.
It still baffles me why can't we have Face ID when opening Mail
Clever. I still maintain that a lot of these issues could be solved if Apple just increased the number of times Face ID can fail before requiring a password. I find myself putting in my PIN at least once per day because Face ID "failed," even though I didn't even try to use it. It's currently 3, I believe, and it should be at least 5.
Or they can add TouchId and require both FaceId and TouchId for sensitive actions
Not possible, there needs to be a way to force shut down/restart your device if something goes wrong.
Again, these requirements are dropped if the phone is at home or at work, so this scenario wouldn't be an issue.
I wish they would add TouchId to future iPhones
Apple should also force users not to use a 4-digit code, and strongly encourage them to prefer an alphanumeric code. This is an interesting feature, but as long as the thief knows your password, they can still do a lot of damage.
Some users might wish to ensure protections at all locations (working in a busy bar, for example, or living with a precocious child, hehe), so hopefully that will be simple enough to do.
What they should add to be behind Face ID:
- Putting the phone into the airplane mode
- Turning off Wi-Fi
- Turning off cell data plan
- Changing phone / data plans - any SIM card changes, really
- Putting the phone into the airplane mode
- Turning off Wi-Fi
- Turning off cell data plan
- Changing phone / data plans - any SIM card changes, really
Indeed. I work at a large enough place that I would not want these options available at work.
But in the one hour delay the other devices will get a notification and will be able to stop these procedures started by the thieves, right?
One significant negative…Face/Touch ID to turn off FindMy…that may/will be an issue at the Apple Store when you need to turn off FindMy for a repair or swap…
Something that is even a bit more morbid is what do you do with someone’s phone after they die or they’re seriously injured. I know of two incidences, where spouses did not share passwords, and after an unexpected death, this sled to major problems.
This new security feature is an important improvement. But the problem of what to do with a deceased property is just going to get worse.
This! Why not have the original passcode, to unlock things in system settings, and a second passcode that only unlocks the screen? That way you could unlock the screen in public if needed and it won’t matter if anyone sees that passcode because it won’t unlock anything in settings.
Yes, I did that earlier this year and protected myself as best I could with the current OS. I also have a third party password manager for my most sensitive accounts, in addition to keychain.
One issue victims suffered from was when they had banking passwords / credentials stored in keychain, enabling a thief to access their finances. I don't use it to store those. I had also checked with my bank and they confirmed their app would require a separate access code if the Face ID was ever reset.
True. There is an option for you to add a trusted person to your account in the event of your death.