The next iPhone software release will include something all owners will welcome: an extra layer of security to protect you if your phone is stolen by a thief who has your passcode. It can’t come too soon.
The release will be iOS 17.3—unless there’s another surprise bug-fix release beforehand—and is expected in January. It’s currently in public beta. The new feature is called Stolen Device Protection.
It’s bad enough that your iPhone could be stolen, but thieves who have got hold of your passcode, say by reading it over your shoulder in a bar, could do more. They could reset your passcode so only they can access it, swap their face into Face ID and then proceed to drain their bank accounts.
I’ve written about how to make your iPhone less vulnerable earlier in the year, but this new update will make things much better.
It’s a topic which has been covered in depth by Joanna Stern and Nicole Nguyen at The Wall Street Journal, including talking to a convicted iPhone thief about how he acted quickly to turn off Find My iPhone, so that the owner couldn’t find or erase the phone.
Now, in a feature that came as a surprise when it was spotted in the first developer and public betas for iOS 17.3, there’s a new level of security which will help foil thieves, even with access to your passcode.
Stolen Device Protection means that, when it’s activated, Face ID or Touch ID authentication is required for actions like viewing passkeys, erasing content and more. Unlike now, you or your thief won’t be able to fall back to passcode entry to make these changes.
As for that action which is supremely important for these thefts, changing the password of the Apple ID account, the new system cleverly adds a security delay on top. If the phone is in an unfamiliar location, authentication by biometrics (Face ID or Touch ID) is then followed by a one-hour wait, after which you must authenticate with biometrics again. The same delay is also needed to add a new Face ID or to turn off Find My iPhone.
The one-hour delay won’t apply if the phone is in a familiar place such as your home or at work.
A thief who knows your passcode could still buy stuff with Apple Pay using the passcode, or search for passwords for other apps which have no separate protection. But it’s a big step up in security.
Note that this feature is opt-in, and if you don’t choose to, you’re no better off than you are now.
For now, you could create a passcode that’s harder for someone to spot over your shoulder, such as one that combines letters and numbers, and never give your passcode out. Oh, and make sure there are no clues to passwords in any of your apps. Remember that you can lock individual items in the Notes app, and obviously make sure you have a separate password for that.
Thieves will still try to steal your iPhone, but this new addition should mean it’s tougher for them to steal your digital life as well.
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