- Report claims Apple is working on new theft protection feature for iOS
- This will automatically lock your iPhone if it is stolen
- Use your iPhone’s sensors to detect if it has been snatched from your hands
Phone theft has become such an epidemic in places like London that a device is stolen in the UK capital every eight minutes, according to the latest government data. In 2024, Android launched its theft detection lock feature in a bid to fight back, and now it looks like Apple is about to do the same.
This is because 9to5Mac claims to have seen unreleased iOS code that hints at this feature. If it comes to fruition, it could mean that users of the two major phone operating systems will have a way to keep their private information out of the hands of thieves.
It seems like Apple’s idea could be a simple but effective system. The report says that iOS will use several signals, including your iPhone’s accelerometer and the phone’s distance from a paired Apple Watch, to determine when the device has been quickly taken out of your hands. When that happens, it automatically locks your iPhone, keeping your data out of the thief’s reach.
Once iOS has confirmed those criteria and locked your iPhone, it checks to see if your device is on a familiar Wi-Fi network and in a familiar location. Otherwise, additional security measures come into effect, including requiring Face ID or Touch ID to access credit cards and passwords and adding a delay to changing your Apple account password. These mirror what you’ll find with Apple’s Stolen Device Protection feature.
Better protection
While Stolen Device Protection, Activation Lock, and Find My are useful, they don’t fully protect you in all circumstances. This is because having your phone suddenly snatched from your hands has a big disadvantage for you (and a big advantage for criminals) in that your device is likely to be unlocked.
If an iPhone is unlocked, the thief can still access many of the most personal and sensitive items on your device, including your address book, emails, recent text messages, and more. And that is a considerable problem.
But when this rumored theft protection feature locks an iPhone, it adds an extra layer of security. Thieves must then pass your password or biometric authentication to gain access to the inside of your phone instead of having everything in plain sight. And with additional features like Stolen Device Protection, it should help keep your data even safer.
It’s worth noting that Apple has yet to make any announcements about this feature and instead appears to have been discovered in unreleased iOS code. While Apple could announce it at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 8, it could also just be testing the idea without any release commitment.
But if the feature is going to appear this year, WWDC would be a good time for Apple to lift the lid on it.
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