iPhones are a high-priority target for thieves, but the new Stolen Device Protection feature incorporates more stringent security measures. Stolen Device Protection will be a part of iOS 17.3, and is currently only available in a developer beta. This feature will introduce steps that will make it much harder for thieves to lock users out of their iPhones. With these measures in hand, most thieves will be left with only a bricked phone that has no use.
How does iPhone Stolen Device Protection work?
The new feature, when enabled, works using a multitude of different authentication means. Firstly, an iPhone will now recognize if it is far away from normally frequented places. When the thief tries to change the Apple ID password, the phone will now ask for either a Face ID or Touch ID. Furthermore, Apple ID password changes won’t be instant. The phone will wait an hour before it even asks for ID proof.
With Stolen Device Protection enabled, users will also be forbidden from updating trusted phone numbers or adding recovery keys. This will also require an hour of waiting and ID verification. Even iCloud Keychain will ask for Face or Touch ID before handing over stored passwords. All of this makes it much more difficult for a thief to wipe a stolen phone or turn off Apple’s Find My services.
Coming in iOS 17.3
Stolen Device Protection isn’t available at the moment to the general public. Currently in developer beta, it will officially come out with the release of iOS 17.3. iOS 17.2 was only released a few days ago, so expect iOS 17.3 to come out in a few weeks at best. When it releases, it will be a game-changer for iPhone users, as their phones are some of the most targeted in the world.
The Apple ecosystem in general has been under a lot of newfound negative attention lately. ClearFake, an infamous piece of malware, recently started targeting Macs as well as Windows. Meanwhile, the stolen iPhone industry is growing by the day.
People lose their phones and then start receiving threatening messages from China ordering them to reset their Apple ID. Thieves sell off stolen iPhones on eBay or Facebook before they’ve been reported stolen and subsequently bricked. In poorer regions, pulling out an iPhone is practically asking to be robbed.
The Stolen Device Protection feature might finally begin to make the risk of robbery not worth a thief’s trouble. If nothing else, iPhone users can breathe a collective sigh of relief knowing some much-needed security enhancements are on their way soon.
2023-12-14 15:08:09