It’s the perfect safeguard against hack attacks.
Has the prospect of getting your phone stolen got you in a tizzy? Not to fear: Apple has devised a powerful new weapon in the war on cybercrime — a new IOS update called Stolen Device Protection that prevents thieves from accessing smartphones with pilfered passwords.
“In the rare cases where a thief can observe the user entering the passcode and then steal the device, Stolen Device Protection adds a sophisticated new layer of protection,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement.
This bold new security feature, which was released Tuesday on the iOS 17.3 developer beta, specifically requires users to employ a biometric access code, such as their face or fingerprints when changing one’s Apple ID password, removing Face ID, and other sensitive functions.
Stolen Device Protection will kick in anytime a user’s device is in an unfamiliar location, after which users will have to complete the aforementioned protocol.
As an added safeguard against “smash and grab” operations, users will have to re-enter their data an hour later to confirm any changes, effectively rendering passcode hack attempts useless.
While currently only available to beta testers, Stolen Device Protection will be accessible to all users when Apple releases the final version of iOS 17.3, TechCrunch reported.
This measure is part of an ongoing campaign to protect smartphone users “as threats to user devices continue to evolve,” per the Apple spokesperson.
Alarm bells were set off last month with the release of the new-to-iPhone feature NameDrop, which allows users to quickly share their contact information with nearby iPhones or Apple Watches, instead of having to physically hand the phone to someone.
While it certainly expedited the info-exchange process, viewers became concerned that users were unknowingly sharing their info with strange iPhone users.
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