How do I Secure my iPhone from Hackers?

Junella
20 hours ago
5 min read

Most people think their iPhones are secure because of Apple’s iOS system, well that’s true, but it doesn’t mean your iPhone can’t be hacked. Our personal information, banking details, photos, messages, and much more are stored on our phones and if not cautious, our phones are vulnerable to getting hacked, so understanding how to protect your phone is crucial to maintaining your privacy. This guide will make sure that the sensitive data on your iPhone can be as secure from hackers as it can be.

Use a Strong Password

Step 1. Open Settings.

Open the Settings app on your iPhone. Scroll down until you see Face ID & Passcode, tap it to open the Passcode settings. Alternatively, you can search for Face ID & Passcode in the search bar.

Step 2. Change Your Passcode to a Stronger Passcode.

Inside the Face ID & Passcode settings, look for the Change Passcode option and tap it. It will prompt you to enter your passcode before you can change it.

Step 3. Choose a Type of Passcode.

There are hacking tools that can be used to crack iPhone and iPad’s 4-digit and 6-digit numeric passcodes so choose a passcode longer than six digits. You can choose a numeric passcode longer than 6 six digits by choosing the “Custom Numeric Passcode”. If you really want to secure your phone, you may also use “Custom Alphanumeric Passcode”, but make sure not to use common words as passwords.

Step 4. Verify Your New Passcode.

Apple will ask you to re-type and verify your passcode once you’ve chosen a type of passcode. Just enter your new passcode and you’re all set!

Activate Find my iPhone

Step 1. Go to Settings.

Open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap on your account. Alternatively, you can search for Find My in the search bar.

Step 2. Enable Find My iPhone.

Inside the Find My settings, you can locate Find My iPhone and simply enable it.

Step 3. Enable Send Last Location.

Once you’ve enabled Find My iPhone, you can enable more features such as Find My Network but mainly the Send Last Location feature. If you lost your iPhone and are unsure of when you last had it, you can log on to Find My iPhone from another device and locate your phone.

Turn On Self-Destruct

Step 1: Go to Settings.

Open the Settings app on your iPhone. Scroll down until you see Face ID & Passcode, tap it to open the Passcode settings. Alternatively, you can search for Face ID & Passcode in the search bar.

Step 2: Enable Erase Data.

Inside Face ID & Passcode settings, scroll down to the bottom and toggle Erase Data and enable it. Enabling this setting means that the data inside your iPhone will be erased after 10 failed passcode attempts. So if you’re worried about your data after losing your phone, enabling this feature will help secure it.

Disable Location Tracking Permissions

Step 1: Go to Settings.

Open the Settings app on your iPhone. Scroll down until you see Privacy & Security, tap it to open the Privacy & Security settings. Alternatively, you can search for Privacy & Security in the search bar.

Step 2: Review the Apps that are Using Your Location.

Inside Privacy & Security settings, navigate to Location Services and review the permissions each app has on your phone’s location. You can also choose to disable Location Services completely by toggling it on or off.

Step 3: Change App Location Access.

Once you’ve reviewed the apps that use Location Services, you can choose to allow location access by selecting “Ask Next Time Or When I Share” or “While Using the App” options or completely never allow it by selecting the “Never” option.

Disable App Tracking

Step 1: Go to Settings.

Open the Settings app on your iPhone. Scroll down until you see Privacy & Security, tap it to open the Privacy & Security settings. Alternatively, you can search for Tracking in the search bar.

Step 2: Disable App Tracking.

Inside Privacy & Settings, navigate to Tracking settings. You can choose to disable apps from requesting to track your activity completely, or only disable it for some apps.

Activate Two-Factor Authentication

Step 1: Go to Settings.

Open the Settings app on your iPhone, click on your account and navigate to Sign-in & Security settings.

Step 2: Enable Phone Number Two-Factor Authentication.

Inside Sign-in & Security settings, navigate to Two-Factor Authentication settings. Add a trusted phone number which can be used to verify your identity when signing in as well as to help recover your account if you have forgotten your password.

Disable Control Center on Lock Screen

Step 1: Go to Settings.

Open the Settings app on your iPhone. Scroll down until you see Face ID & Passcode, tap it to open the Face ID & Passcode settings. Alternatively, you can search for Face ID & Passcode in the search bar.

Step 2: Disable Control Center.

You will be prompted to enter your passcode. Inside Face ID & Security settings, scroll down to the bottom and toggle off Control Center, Wallet, and Accessories. By disabling these features from the lock screen, thieves won’t have the possibility to turn your Wi-Fi, data, and Bluetooth on and off, or even turn on Airplane mode which may stop some apps that need access to the internet like the Find My feature.

Turn On Stolen Device Protection

Step 1: Go to Settings.

Step 2: Turn On Stolen Device Protection.

You will be prompted to enter your passcode. Inside Face ID & Security settings, look for Stolen Device Protection and turn it on.

Step 3: Enable Away from Familiar Locations.

By enabling this feature, some features and actions will have extra security requirements when your phone is away from familiar locations. These requirements will help prevent someone who has stolen your device and knows your phone’s passcode from doing any changes to your device. You can learn more about Stolen Device Protection here.

Do not Jailbreak Your iPhone

If you jailbreak your phone, it enables you to customize the entire appearance and performance of your iPhone, however, jailbreaking also means that you are removing the safeguards that Apple put in your phone to protect your phone from threats such as malware and viruses. You can learn more about the risks of jailbreaking here.