Apple has made your iPhone pretty darn secure.
However, there’s always room for improving your security.
So today, we’ll look at 5 Security Settings you should check right away to be sure your iPhone is safe and secure.
1) Passcode Strength
You’re smart. You know that using your iPhone’s passcode is the best way to protect yourself from snooping friends, relatives, and thieves.
But, what is the best iPhone passcode?
A strong alpha-numeric code is what you want – it’s way more secure than a numbers-only passcode. The old four-digit passcodes only have 10,000 possibilities for hackers to try.
So, follow these steps to make sure you have a strong mix of numbers and letters for your Passcode…
1) Settings
2) Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode on older iPhones)
3) Enter your current Passcode
4) Change Passcode (if you have already set up a Passcode)
5) Passcode Options (then enter your old Passcode)
6) Custom Alphanumeric Code
2) Lock Screen Information
Your iPhone may contain sensitive information that you might not want accessible on your Lock screen.
So, you may want to restrict exactly what information is shown on your locked iPhone, especially if other people have physical access to your iPhone.
Depending on how you set it up, your lock screen can display your Today View, Notification Center, Control Center, Widgets, Siri, Reply with Message, Home Control, Wallet, Return Missed Call.
If you turn off Lock Screen access to a feature, you prevent someone who has your iPhone from viewing any personal information that it might contain (such as an upcoming event in the Calendar widget). However, you also lose the convenience of quick access to the information yourself.
To control what is shown on your lock screen, follow these steps…
1) Settings
2) Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode on older iPhones)
3) Enter your current Passcode
4) Select which features you want to be displayed on your Lock Screen under “Allow Access When Locked”.
3) Reused Passwords?
A new security feature has been added to iCloud Keychain.
If you store your web passwords on iCloud Keychain, Apple can use check if you’ve been using the same password for multiple accounts… which you shouldn’t do.
To check for “Password Reuse,” follow these steps…
1) Settings
2) Passwords & Accounts
3) Website & App Passwords
4) Sign in with Face ID or your Passcode
5) Tap “Change Password on Website” for any entries with a warning icon with a triangle/exclamation point.
4) Lock Screen Timeout Speed
Setting your lock screen timeout to a faster value prevents people from picking up your iPhone and reading your emails or messages, or even worse.
So, I recommend keeping your lock screen time to a short period.
To set your Lock Screen Timeout speed, follow these steps…
1) Settings
2) Display & Brightness
3) Auto-Lock
4) Choose the amount of time you want your screen to stay on after you last touch your iPhone. Your options are from “30 Seconds” to “Never.” 30 seconds being the most secure.
5) Reboot Weekly
Reboot your iPhone once a week. I do it every Monday Morning.
This will protect you from remote exploits, and you should see an added performance boost.
To reboot your iPhone, follow these steps…
1) Press-and-hold the volume button and the side button until the power-off slider appears.
2) Slide the slider,
3) Wait 30 seconds for your iPhone to turn off.
To turn your iPhone back on, press-and-hold the side button (on the right side of your iPhone) until you see the Apple logo.
Do you have friends who should check these important Security Settings on their iPhone too? Use the Share Buttons below to share this Blog Post with your Friends… I really appreciate you helping me spread the word about my Free Daily iPhone Tips! 🙂
Thank you for all your information. It is valuable.
Great
Thanks for help to stay safe
How can we get Apple to give us a new password, when we’re on a site that doesn’t boot the password link?
I keep putting in my new alphabetical password and it says it does not match. Do you have anything to use just letters or can it be @,#?
Your tips are so helpful. I really appreciate them.
Phone sets up strong passwords but not all websites takes them, Amy suggestions?
As a Senior I find your tips very helpful.
What is best way to archive or delete old messages? I am having trouble keeping up mail. Is there an easy way to delete unwanted mail?