Why You Shouldn’t Turn on Stolen Device Protection on iPhone
Your iPhone already has a very simple feature protecting your data–your passcode.
I recently found myself at a repair shop with a broken iPhone screen. After arriving for my appointment, I went to remove my iPhone from Find My and discovered that I was going to need to wait a full hour before I could complete that task. I had run into the Stolen Device Protection security delay, so I grabbed a coffee and a scone at the shop next door and waited out the delay.
Stolen Device Protection was introduced to the iPhone with iOS 17.3. From the name, this sounds like a good feature–something that will help protect your data in case your iPhone gets stolen. While it does offer additional security protection, before you enable it on your iPhone, you may want to consider how it affects your ability to make changes to your device and Apple ID settings while away from home.
What Stolen Device Protection does
If you have Stolen Device Protection enabled on your iPhone, and someone steals your phone, it will be much more difficult for the thief to change your device’s passcode or make changes to your Apple ID account. This works by requiring Face ID (or Touch ID) to make these kinds of changes or by initiating a one-hour security delay before changes will take effect. The security delay is designed to let you, the owner, have time to disable a lost or stolen device before someone can make changes.
How to turn Stolen Device Protection on or off
To access these settings, open Settings on your iPhone and tap on either Face ID & Passcode or Touch ID & Passcode. After you enter your passcode, scroll down and tap on the Stolen Device Protection option.
If you choose to turn on Stolen Device Protection, you will have two options: “Away from Familiar Locations” and “Always.”
Why you may not want this protection
Your iPhone already has a very simple feature protecting your data; if a stranger picks up your phone and tries to open it, they will need your passcode. If they try too many times to guess your passcode, the phone will shut them out.
Now, Stolen Device Protection could be a good thing–it enhances the security of your device and Apple ID account by protecting your data and preventing someone else from locking you out of your own account. This can happen in the rare situation that the person who took your iPhone knows your passcode; this usually happens one of two ways: the person is a (former) friend, or the person is a stranger who watched you enter your passcode. Despite the potential security benefits, this protection comes at a cost.
The trouble with Stolen Device Protection
In general, anything that enhances the security of your device or account can possibly make it more difficult for you to make changes or access your data.
When Stolen Device Protection is enabled, either because you have set it to always be on or you are away from a familiar location (i.e., home or work), some tasks will be more difficult:
- If you want to access your sensitive data, such as your stored passwords or stored credit card information, you will need to use Face ID or Touch ID–not a big deal except that there is no passcode backup if Face ID or Touch ID fails. So, if you need to use one of the passwords you have stored in Keychain while you are out, make sure you won’t have any issues using Face ID/Touch ID.
- If you want to make changes to your security settings, such as changing your Apple ID password or iPhone passcode, turning off Find My or turning off Stolen Device Protection, you will run into a delay.
The second one is important if, for example:
- You are taking your device in for repair. Before giving your iPhone to the repair shop, whether it is Apple or a third-party repair shop, you will need to remove your iPhone from Find My. If you have Stolen Device Protection enabled, you won’t be able to remove your iPhone from Find My while at the repair shop unless you are prepared to wait for the hour-long security delay required to perform this action when you are away from home.
- You are trading in or selling your device. If you haven’t already factory reset your iPhone before leaving home, you will need to wait for the security delay.
If you choose to enable Stolen Device Protection
You may certainly still choose to enable this security feature. If you feel you are more at risk of having your iPhone stolen, the enhanced security may be the right choice for you. However, if you have Stolen Device Protection enabled, keep in mind the Face ID/Touch ID requirements and the security delay so that you do not find yourself highly inconvenienced by the inability to perform certain tasks (or to perform them in a timely manner) while you are away from home.
You can find a list of the tasks affected by Stolen Device Protection on Apple’s website.
Related articles