Strengthen iPhone security: Six key steps and practical skills

This article outlines six key steps to help you enhance your iPhone’s security and protect your personal information from being leaked.

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• Two-factor authentication
• iCloud Private Relay
• Advanced Data Protection
• Anti-theft equipment protection
• Lock mode
• Other key habits to improve iPhone security

summary

Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to your iCloud account, while iCloud private relay protects your privacy when you use the Apple Safari browser to surf the internet. Consider enabling advanced data protection for enhanced encryption and use anti-theft device protection to further lock your device to your biometric information. In addition to optional protections like lock mode and VPN, keep your device updated and avoid public Wi-Fi.

If you use your iPhone every day, you are likely to have a lot of personal information stored on it. You certainly don't want this information to fall into the hands of the bad guys. Here are six steps you can prevent this and make sure your iPhone is safe.

Two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication is an important security measure for iPhones that ensures unauthorized users cannot access your iCloud account. Once enabled, you will receive a verification code on your iPhone whenever someone tries to log into your iCloud account from another device.

For example, if you try to log in to your iCloud account on your Windows computer, you will receive a verification code on your iPhone, which you need to enter on your Windows device to log in to your account. Interestingly, the iPhone also allows you to add trusted phone numbers, which will be very handy if you want to access your iCloud account without accessing your iPhone. In this case, you will receive a verification code on the device with the trusted phone number.

You most likely have enabled 2FA on your iPhone. However, if you accidentally disabled it, or just want to check again that it is open, open the Settings app, click on your profile icon, select Login & Security, and then click on Two-Factor Authentication.

iCloud Private Relay

When you are online, your internet service provider and the websites you visit can easily view your DNS records and IP addresses. If this information falls into the hands of a bad person, it may be used to identify your location or even your browsing history.

If you want to prevent this, you should use the iCloud private relay feature. It is one of the many features iCloud offers to help protect your privacy. It is worth noting that this feature is limited to Apple's Safari browser. This means that even if you enable it, your ISP and the websites you visit can still track your DNS records and IP addresses if you use any browser other than Safari on your iPhone.

That is, to enable private relay on your iPhone, open the Settings app, click on your profile icon, select iCloud, click on Private Relay, and turn on the Private Relay switch.

Advanced Data Protection

End-to-end encryption is an important feature you should always look for in all the apps and services you use on your iPhone. It ensures that no one except you (even Apple) can’t access what you do with the app on your device.

End-to-end encryption is enabled in most areas on iPhone. However, end-to-end encryption is not enabled by default for features such as iCloud backup, iCloud disk, photos, memos and reminders. If you also want to extend protection to these features, you will need to enable advanced data protection features.

Importantly, everything on your iPhone will be encrypted end-to-end when ADP is enabled, meaning that if you can't access your account, Apple won't be able to help you recover it. In addition, enabling ADP will also limit your access to iCloud in your web browser. Every time you try to use iCloud on the network, you must confirm your identity on a trusted device. Additionally, you need to reauthorize the session every hour.

If you agree to all these conditions, you can enable advanced data protection on your iPhone by navigating to Settings > Your Profile > iCloud > Advanced Data Protection > Turn on Advanced Data Protection.

Anti-theft equipment protection

As the name implies, the anti-theft device protection feature will be activated when your iPhone is stolen. When enabled, sensitive data (such as your password or credit card information) can only be accessed using a Face ID or Touch ID. This means that even if the thief somehow knows your iPhone password, they still have no access to your sensitive data.

Additionally, this feature adds an hour of latency to actions like changing Apple ID passwords when your iPhone is away from a familiar location, such as your home or office.

To enable the anti-theft device protection feature, go to Settings > Face ID and Password > Anti-theft device protection. Then, turn on the "Anti-theft Equipment Protection" switch.

Lock mode

Lock mode is a security feature on iPhone and is not designed for everyone. When enabled, the functionality of certain applications, websites, and features will be limited to improve device security. For example, features such as "Share Play" and "Live Photos" will not be available. Additionally, you can only make FaceTime calls with people you have contacted in the past 30 days.

According to Apple, this feature "provides additional protection for users who may face the risk of targeted cyberattacks from private companies developing state-backed mercenary spyware." This means you won't use it every day, but it's still useful to know what this feature does and how to enable it.

To enable lock mode on your iPhone, open the Settings app and go to Privacy & Security > Lock Mode > Turn on Lock Mode.

Other key habits to improve iPhone security

In addition to taking all the security steps above, there are some habits that can help improve iPhone security. First, you should regularly download updates to apps installed on your iPhone. This way, you can not only try out new features released by app developers, but also protect your app from various security threats. Additionally, you should make sure to update your iPhone regularly.

Next, you should use the Face ID to lock important applications stored on your iPhone. Specifically, you should do this with your banking app. This way, even if the thief somehow gets your iPhone password, they won't be able to access these apps.

Next, you should avoid connecting to public Wi-Fi. Unlike private networks, public Wi-Fi lacks security and encryption capabilities. So if you connect to one of these networks, it's easy for hackers to exploit the vulnerability of the connection and access your device.

If you have no choice but to connect to public Wi-Fi, you should use a VPN. This can make it harder for hackers to track your location and steal information about your device. Additionally, using a VPN can help you access websites or applications that are not available in your region.

Finally, you have to set the Find feature on your iPhone. This is undoubtedly the most important security setting on Apple devices. If you enable this setting, you can easily find a lost or stolen iPhone.

Conclusion

The above are all the important measures you should take to make your iPhone as safe as possible. But the bad thing about hackers or other malicious agents is that they are always trying to access your device. So, in addition to taking the above measures, you should also be very cautious about what you interact online.

Avoid clicking on suspicious links or opening similar emails. Additionally, you should always back up your data, as this can be helpful if you lose access to the data stored on your iPhone or on it.

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