Modern computing has made data more vulnerable. Devices no longer sit on desks, behind locked doors, isolated from the world. Instead, they are in your pocket, connected to the internet, acting as a portal to online services. And those services are themselves vulnerable to attack from countless online entities.
Short of turning off internet access and gluing your iPhone to a wall, what measures can you take to protect your devices and data? These tips, apps and accessories should help ensure your iPhone, files, and login details don’t fall into the wrong hands.
Get started
Set up a passcode: Go to Settings > Face ID/Touch ID & Passcode, and set a passcode for your device. Use at least six digits. An alphanumeric password is even better – but not a string of numbers and text someone could guess. Use biometrics for unlocking your phone thereafter.
Turn on screen lock: Make it hard for someone to access your iPhone if it’s unattended, mislaid, or stolen. Go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock and select 30 seconds. Get into the habit of using the side button to manually lock your iPhone on completing a task.
Make passwords unique: Passkeys are the future, but most sites and services today require a standard username/password login. Use a password manager – Apple’s own or a third-party option. Make passwords complex and unique – never use one across multiple services.
Activate 2FA: Wherever it’s available, turn on two-factor authentication for your accounts. Follow Apple’s guide to use 2FA with your Apple ID. Elsewhere, favor 2FA that works with an authenticator app – those that use SMS are less secure, although still better than nothing.
Turn on Find My: When a device is stolen, watching it move across a map won’t help much – although police have recovered some devices this way. Still, Find My is essential for finding mislaid items. Turn on separation alerts to make it harder to accidentally leave devices behind.
Spot hoaxes: Phishing emails are increasingly sophisticated. Unsure about an email? Tap the sender in Mail to see if the address looks dodgy. Worried something might genuinely be wrong? Login to an app or service manually. Never tap login links in emails unless they are ones you’ve just requested, such as a login link.
Trim your Lock Screen: Your Lock Screen can stash widgets, and the iPhone Pro’s is always on. So make sure nothing will ever appear there, such as pinned information or ad-hoc alerts that would reveal something you wouldn’t want other people to see. (Turn entire categories off in Settings > Face ID & Passcode.)
Obfuscate everything: Apple’s Hide My Email lets you hide your email address from services you sign up to. Manually obfuscate other details too. For example, use random strings of characters for the answers to account security questions, since they cannot be guessed. Store them in your password manager.
Download these apps
Ente Auth (free): Apple Passwords can handle 2FA codes, but you might feel more secure with a dedicated app. Ente syncs across devices, but do secure them all with Face ID or Touch ID.
1Password (from $4/£4 per month): Apple’s Passwords is a good choice when you solely use Apple gear. 1Password is better if you use Windows or Android, or want a safe place to stash extras like software licenses.
Apple Notes (free): This notepad is arguably not the best place for sensitive info, but lots of people use it for that anyway. If that’s you, long-press relevant notes and choose ‘Lock Note.’ They can be unlocked with Face ID or Touch ID.
Documents by Readdle (free): Apple’s Files app can leave your documents wide open if someone grabs your unlocked phone. So store confidential or private files in this app instead, which again can be locked down with biometrics.
Signal (free): Plenty of messaging apps claim to be secure. Signal actually has the kind of reputation to back that app, thanks to its end-to-end encryption, lack of ads, and policy of not harvesting your data.
Connect this hardware
AirTag ($29/£35): Your Apple devices are discoverable if Find My is activated on them. But Apple’s AirTags are good for locating whatever else you might attach them to – or stash them inside of, from wallets to luggage.
Apple Watch (from $249/£219): When devices are set to issue separation alerts, it pays to have multiple devices on your person. If you leave your iPhone behind, your Apple Watch can quickly alert you.
Spigen wrist strap ($20/£20): Attach this strap to your phone – it should work with most cases – and you can more easily carry it without fear of dropping it, and it’ll give you an extra dash of protection during an attempted theft.
Samsung USB Type-C Flash Drive (from $14/£9): When you’re iPhone-first and want to safeguard important files, stash copies on this lightweight, keychain-friendly flash drive.
Lightning to USB Camera Adapter ($39/£45): If you’re rocking an older iPhone but would still like to backup some files, this adapter will let you work with old-school USB-A flash drives and SD cards.