Securing Your iPhone Just Got Easier With Apple's New Anti-Theft Feature

Apple Inc. AAPL has rolled out a novel security feature, Stolen Device Protection, in a bid to curb the rising incidents of iPhone theft.

What Happened: The Stolen Device Protection feature enhances the security framework of iPhones, making it challenging for perpetrators to exploit the device, even if they gain access to the user’s private passcode. 

The feature gets activated when the device is in an unfamiliar location and necessitates using Apple’s FaceID along with the passcode for sensitive actions, such as viewing stored passwords or wiping the phone.

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The user’s Apple ID password cannot be changed, nor can Face ID be removed, without adhering to a compulsory one-hour delay and an ensuing FaceID check. 

This additional feature was prompted by reports about a scam where attackers extracted the user’s password and deactivated theft protection features on the stolen device, reported CNBC. 

Users can enable the Stolen Device Protection under Face ID and Passcode settings, which is currently accessible to those with the latest developer beta, iOS 17.3. 

The feature shall be rolled out to other iPhone users in the coming weeks with the public launch of iOS 17.3.

Why It Matters: Last month, a Reddit user shared their grievances on the platform, saying that they had misplaced their iPhones a month ago and had started receiving suspicious texts from an unknown person urging them to unlock their devices or remove the device from their accounts. 

During the same time, Cupertino faced criticism when a user’s Apple ID got hacked, leaving them without access to their iCloud accounts. 

Image Credits – Shutterstock

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This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.