Extra Protection for Stolen Devices
Getting robbed is awful, but it’s even worse when you think that the criminal might find your passcode and get instant access to all of the data you have stored in your iPhone — and possibly even more.
While that might not happen all the time, Apple is already working on ways to make your iPhone even more secure. And with iOS 17.4, you’ll have a bit more protection thanks to Stolen Device Protection.
While this feature debuted in iOS 17.3 earlier this year, improvements in iOS 17.4 make it more secure by letting you enforce a delay when changing your most important security settings no matter where you are. When enabled, Stolen Device Protection requires Face ID to change things like your passcode, Find My settings, or Apple ID password, and also enforces a one-hour delay before you can do this whenever you’re away from a familiar location, such as your home or work.
With iOS 17.4, you can require this one-hour delay even when you’re in one of those trusted locations, which can be helpful if you live, work, or go to school in a place where you’re still concerned someone might try to scam you.
While this won’t bring your iPhone back, it will prevent clever thieves from taking over your entire life and might also give you enough time to wipe your iPhone remotely and make sure no one can get access to your data.