If your iPhone were a person, it would know everything about you. Your financial situation, your relationship with your friends and family, your addiction to social media… People often forget just how important protecting their iPhone data is. Hackers keep attacking everyone in their way, especially those who fail to follow the main iPhone security tips.

Even something as simple as ignoring software updates can lead to huge vulnerabilities in your iPhone security and ultimately result in stolen or leaked data. Keep on reading to find out how to keep your iPhone safe with 5 great but easy tips.

Use strong passwords

Your password security is the single most important aspect of your iPhone’s cybersecurity. If you take all possible security measures but fail to create strong enough passwords, your iPhone won’t be safe.

Review all of your passwords and make sure that they’re difficult and never repetitive. Of course, this also applies to your iPhone passcode. Many people like using passcodes like “1111” or “1234” because of how easy they are to enter. However, to keep your iPhone safe, go for a random passcode with different digits.

Remembering your passcode isn’t that difficult since you only have one. However, when it comes to the passwords to all of your accounts, they can be painstakingly hard to remember. Luckily, you can keep your personal information safe by using an iOS password manager. An iOS password manager will remember your passwords and auto-fill them for you whenever you need them.

Set up automatic updates

IOS is known for how secure it is compared to other operating systems. However, even Apple can’t create perfect software that has zero vulnerabilities. For instance, Apple recently sent out a security patch after hackers discovered a gap in the software that made it possible to place malware on an iPhone without needing to trick users into clicking on a malicious link.

This is just one example of all potential vulnerabilities that are yet to be discovered. By failing to update your software, you put your iPhone and all of its important data at stake. Set up automatic software updates to ensure that you receive security patches as soon as they’re released.

Turn on USB restricted mode

USB restricted mode is a feature that protects your iPhone from hacking attempts through USB ports. When enabled, you can’t connect any device to your phone through USB if it’s been locked for over an hour.

Sometimes, public USB charging stations can be infected with malware, and this feature would help protect your device. Also, if your phone gets stolen, a hacker won’t be able to access your data as long as they don’t have your passcode. To enable USB restricted mode on your iPhone, go to settings > Face ID & Passcode, scroll down and disallow access to USB accessories when locked.

Turn on the “erase data” feature

In the event that your device gets stolen, the “erase data” feature will wipe your iPhone clean and ensure that nobody can access your data. If it’s turned on, your iPhone will automatically delete everything if someone tries to guess your password unsuccessfully 10 times.

To enable it, go to settings > Face ID & Passcode, scroll down and enable “erase data”. Of course, if you enable this feature, keep a backup of your data just in case.

Set up Find My iPhone

Find My iPhone is an amazing feature that many people forget to set up. In case you’ve never used it, you can log into it through icloud.com, and it will show the location of your phone. Here are some additional features of the app you might not know about:

  • You can make your iPhone ring. If you know your phone is nearby but you can’t seem to find it, you can make your phone ring through Find My iPhone.
  • You can enable “lost mode”. This will temporarily disable your device to make sure nobody can access your data or use Apple pay. It will also override any location preference you have set and start tracking your device.
  • You can erase your data. If your iPhone gets stolen and there’s little to no chance of getting it back, you can delete all of your data remotely.

Conclusion

People keep trying to steal important iPhone data. You should never leave your security up to fate and hope you’ll be safe all of the time. Start following these 5 security tips for a much safer iPhone experience!