We all know that in 2020 it’s important to keep your digital information secure. It’s now commonplace for us to store our bank details, personal photos and a multitude of logins on our iPhone’s. It’s important to know how to keep that data secure so we’re taking a look at how to secure your iPhone in 2020.
Use a Long Passcode
We’re all guilty of setting a 4 digit passcode of ‘0000’ on our iPhones. But we’re just asking to be hacked if we do this. If you were a phone thief what would be the first password you try?
Set a 6 digit passcode on your phone by going to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode > Change Passcode > Passcode Options. Remember to keep it easy to remember but hard to guess!
Erase Data After 10 Passcode Fails
What this option allows is for all of your phones data to be removed if the passcode is typed incorrectly 10 times. This may seem a little risky but as long as you’re aware this option is on there is no reason you’d fail it yourself. Think about it, is your phone data worth more than your bank being emptied or your personal photo’s being published on the internet?
To enable this option head over to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode > Erase Data.
Hide Your Notifications on the Lock Screen
If you’re using apps that may display sensitive information such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger then make sure you hide the notifications on the lock screen. Remember, if someone steals your phone they will still be able to see your notifications.
You’ll also save yourself any possibility of embarrassing moments if you get any risk-ay messages.
To enable this feature head over to Settings > Notifications > [app name] > Show on Lock Screen.
Don’t Share Your Location
It’s important to not only disable this feature yourself but to encourage your friends and family to do so as well. If your iPhone falls into the wrong hands then someone will be able to find out where your friends and family might be as they have their location sharing on. It will be even more accessible if you use apps such as Snapchat and Find My Friends as this will show a map to your loved ones.
To change this setting head over to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Share My Location.
Turn Off Location Services
This is similar to our last tip however requires some extra steps to disable. A lot of your apps will try to harvest as much data from you as possible including your location - even for apps that would never need it. You can switch this off for whichever apps you like by heading over to Settings > Privacy > Location Services (> optionally System Services).
Review Your Installed Apps
This is a good practice for saving data on your phone as well. Deleting apps that you never use is the best way to ensure there are no privacy leaks through old apps.
To do this simply Long-press any app icon on the home screen. Alternatively, Settings > General > Storage & iCloud Usage > Manage Storage.
Limit Your Ad tracking
It’s important to realise that ad tracking does come in use, it allows us to be shown ads that might actually interest us. Either way, we’re going to see ads so getting something relevant will be a lot more tolerable. However, it’s important to use the “Limit Ad Tracking” so that your data isn’t shared across multiple third-party apps.
To turn this feature on head over to Settings > Privacy > Advertising.
That wrap’s it up, our top ways to secure your iPhone in 2020. Using all of these tips or just a combination of them will severely increase the safety of your data, which, as we know, is key as we move into this new data-driven decade.