Smartphones and tablets carry a lot of personal and financial information. What measures do you take to secure your devices from hacking or theft? Do you use biometric locks, encryption, remote wipe capabilities, security apps, or physical accessories like privacy screens? Share your mobile security practices to keep your devices safe.
How do you protect your mobile devices from being hacked or stolen?
- Thread starter FraudClient
- Start date
iPhone has quite a few security features. I have been with iPhone for many years now and don't see myself switching to Android anytime in the foreseeable future.
Check these out:
Check these out:
Face ID & Touch ID – Biometric authentication with anti-spoofing protections.
- Passcode Lock – Required fallback for biometrics, with escalating timeouts for failed attempts.
- Erase Data After 10 Failed Passcode Attempts – Optional feature that wipes the phone if brute force is attempted.
- Auto-Lock & Lock Screen Restrictions – Prevents long exposure of unlocked access.
Find My iPhone / Find My – Locate, lock, or erase a lost or stolen device remotely.
- Activation Lock – Ties the device to the owner’s Apple ID, making stolen phones useless without credentials.
- Lost Mode – Remotely lock with a custom message and track location.
- Stolen Device Protection (iOS 17.3+) – Adds extra authentication steps when changing sensitive settings if away from familiar locations.
End-to-End Encryption (iMessage & FaceTime) – Protects communication from interception.
- Encrypted iCloud Backups – Data stored in iCloud is encrypted. (Advanced Data Protection offers end-to-end encryption for most iCloud content).
- Wi-Fi Security Features – Private Wi-Fi Address to prevent network tracking.
- Safari Security – Intelligent Tracking Prevention, anti-phishing alerts, sandboxing for malicious sites.
- iCloud Keychain – Secure password manager with autofill and breach warnings.
- Lockdown Mode (for high-risk users) – Disables certain functions to reduce attack surface.
Secure Enclave – A dedicated chip for storing biometric data, passcodes, and encryption keys.
- Hardware-Based Encryption – All data on the device is encrypted by default.
- App Sandboxing – Prevents apps from accessing each other’s data.
- App Store Review & Notarization – Reduces chances of malware apps.
- Rapid Security Responses – Small security-only updates delivered between iOS versions.
- System Integrity Protection – Prevents unauthorized code execution at the kernel level.
App Tracking Transparency (ATT) – Prevents apps from tracking users without consent.
- Privacy Nutrition Labels – Shows what data apps collect.
- Clipboard, Microphone & Camera Indicators – Alerts when an app accesses them.
- Safety Check – Lets users review/reset sharing and access in case of stalking or compromised accounts.
- Lock Hidden/Deleted Photos with Face ID/Touch ID – Prevents unauthorized access to private media.
Jason
Member
My phone is a very cheap Wal Mart brand, but I'm sure similar security exists for it. Anyone else have cheaper phones? How do you protect them?iPhone has quite a few security features. I have been with iPhone for many years now and don't see myself switching to Android anytime in the foreseeable future.
Check these out:
- Passcode Lock – Required fallback for biometrics, with escalating timeouts for failed attempts.
- Erase Data After 10 Failed Passcode Attempts – Optional feature that wipes the phone if brute force is attempted.
- Auto-Lock & Lock Screen Restrictions – Prevents long exposure of unlocked access.
- Activation Lock – Ties the device to the owner’s Apple ID, making stolen phones useless without credentials.
- Lost Mode – Remotely lock with a custom message and track location.
- Stolen Device Protection (iOS 17.3+) – Adds extra authentication steps when changing sensitive settings if away from familiar locations.
- Encrypted iCloud Backups – Data stored in iCloud is encrypted. (Advanced Data Protection offers end-to-end encryption for most iCloud content).
- Wi-Fi Security Features – Private Wi-Fi Address to prevent network tracking.
- Safari Security – Intelligent Tracking Prevention, anti-phishing alerts, sandboxing for malicious sites.
- iCloud Keychain – Secure password manager with autofill and breach warnings.
- Lockdown Mode (for high-risk users) – Disables certain functions to reduce attack surface.
- Hardware-Based Encryption – All data on the device is encrypted by default.
- App Sandboxing – Prevents apps from accessing each other’s data.
- App Store Review & Notarization – Reduces chances of malware apps.
- Rapid Security Responses – Small security-only updates delivered between iOS versions.
- System Integrity Protection – Prevents unauthorized code execution at the kernel level.
- Privacy Nutrition Labels – Shows what data apps collect.
- Clipboard, Microphone & Camera Indicators – Alerts when an app accesses them.
- Safety Check – Lets users review/reset sharing and access in case of stalking or compromised accounts.
- Lock Hidden/Deleted Photos with Face ID/Touch ID – Prevents unauthorized access to private media.