The steps to follow if your iPhone is stolen are clear: open the “Find” app and mark it as lost, in addition to being able to locate it on a map. However, There is a setting that we can already configure as prevention in order to prevent them from accessing our content.
This is a setting that has been around in iOS for years, but it’s not very well known. And even if it is risks to considerIt is generally advisable to know at least this possibility. And, metaphorically speaking, it is a kind of self-destruct mode to prevent the thief from accessing our data.
What is iPhone “self-destruct” mode?
As we told you before, this mode is metaphorical. Needless to say, the iPhone will not explode or anything similar. However, it will prevent access to the device when the security code is wrong So this is a great way to prevent a thief from eventually gaining access through elimination.
To find this setting, simply follow these steps:
- Open “Settings” on the iPhone.
- Go to the “Face ID/Touch ID & Passcode” section.
- Go down to the end and enable the ‘Delete Data’ tab.
- Confirm the action by clicking on “Activate”.
What’s going to change? Well, basically, nothing. Your iPhone will continue to ask you for the security code to unlock it if it doesn’t recognize your face or fingerprint. However, if this code is entered incorrectly ten times in a rowit will lock and delete all data on the device.
Yes indeed, you will keep some data synced in iCloudas well as you can load a backup copy on the new iPhone so that it remains like the previous one.
Risks and other things to consider
The advantage of this setting is obvious, preventing anyone from accessing the contents of the iPhone without your consent. It is understood that whoever makes a mistake ten times in the code is because he is trying to perform unauthorized access, but This content may also be accidentally deleted.
For example, if you have children at home. You can accidentally leave the iPhone in his sight and he picks it up and, if he doesn’t know the code or is too young to know what the iPhone is, he can start typing random codes and end up blocking it. Therefore, keep these types of situations in mind, as it is not recommended to enable the setting.
Likewise, it must be said that If your iPhone is stolen, you should also mark it as lost from the “Search” app (either from another Apple device or via the web). This ensures that in addition to not being able to access your content, the thief cannot configure the iPhone with their own data.
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