About Stolen Device Protection for iPhone

Stolen Device Protection adds a layer of security when your iPhone is away from familiar locations, such as your home or workplace, and helps protect your accounts and personal information in case your iPhone is ever stolen.

About Stolen Device Protection

With Stolen Device Protection, some features and actions have additional security requirements when your iPhone is away from familiar locations, such as your home or workplace. These requirements help prevent someone who has stolen your device and knows your passcode from making critical changes to your account or device.

• Face ID or Touch ID biometric authentication: Some actions, such as accessing stored passwords and credit cards, require a single biometric authentication with Face ID or Touch ID — with no passcode alternative or fallback — so that only you can access these features.

• Security Delay: Some security actions, such as changing your Apple Account password, also require you to wait an hour and then perform a second Face ID or Touch ID authentication.

In the event that your iPhone is stolen, the security delay is designed to prevent a thief from performing critical operations so that you can mark your device as lost and make sure your Apple account is secure.

Mark your device as lost on iCloud.com

Find out what to do if your iPhone is stolen

When your iPhone is in a familiar location, these additional steps will not be required and you can use your device passcode like normal. Familiar locations typically include your home, workplace and certain other locations where you regularly use your iPhone.

If you choose, you can set up Stolen Device Protection to always require these additional security measures, even when your iPhone is in a familiar location.

How to turn Stolen Device Protection on or off

To turn on Stolen Device Protection, you must use two-factor authentication for your Apple Account and set up or enable the following on your iPhone: A device passcode; Face ID or Touch ID; and Significant Locations* (Location Services).

You also need to have Find My turned on, and you can't turn it off while Stolen Device Protection is enabled.

You can turn on Stolen Device Protection in Settings:

1. Go to Settings, then tap Face ID & Passcode.

2. Enter your device passcode.

3. Tap Stolen Device Protection, then turn Stolen Device Protection on or off.

   

When you restore from iCloud Backup or transfer directly from a previous iPhone to a new one, your device settings — including Stolen Device Protection — will also be restored. After a short delay to sync familiar locations from iCloud, the Stolen Device Protection security measures will automatically resume on your new device.

Always require additional security measures

By default, the additional security measures of Stolen Device Protection are only required when your iPhone is away from significant locations.

If you’d like your iPhone to enforce the additional Stolen Device Protection security measures regardless of its location, you can adjust your settings.

• Go to Settings > Face ID (or Touch ID) & Passcode > Stolen Device Protection, then choose “Always” under Require Security Delay.

• When you choose this option, updates to certain security settings will always require a delay and actions that require biometric authentication will always require Face ID or Touch ID (with no passcode alternative), even if you’re in a familiar location, such as your home or workplace.

How Stolen Device Protection protects your device and accounts

When Stolen Device Protection is turned on, certain actions have additional security requirements when your iPhone is away from familiar locations, such as your home or workplace.

To help further protect critical security settings, there are also additional security requirements for certain actions on the web or other Apple devices.

• You can’t update these security settings on the web at account.apple.com.

• You may have to wait a period of time before you can update these security settings on a new device.

Face ID or Touch ID biometric authentication

With Stolen Device Protection, if your iPhone is not in a familiar location, you must authenticate using Face ID or Touch ID before you can take certain actions, including the following:

• Use passwords or passkeys saved in Keychain

• Use payment methods saved in Safari (AutoFill)

• Turn off Lost Mode

• Erase all content and settings

• Apply for a new Apple Card

• View your Apple Card or Apple Cash virtual card number

• Take certain Apple Cash and Savings actions in Wallet (for example, Apple Cash or Savings transfers)

• Use your iPhone to set up a new device (for example, Quick Start)

Security Delay

With Stolen Device Protection, you may also be required to wait an hour before using your iPhone to make changes to critical security settings or your Apple Account. If your iPhone is not in a familiar location, you must authenticate using Face ID or Touch ID, wait for the security delay to end, then authenticate using Face ID or Touch ID again to update settings such as the following:

• Change your Apple Account password

• Sign out of your Apple Account

• Update Apple Account security settings (such as adding or removing a trusted device, Recovery Key or Recovery Contact)

• Add or remove Face ID or Touch ID

• Change your iPhone passcode

• Reset All Settings

• Enrol in Mobile Device Management

• Turn off Stolen Device Protection

If you use your iPhone to change your Apple Account password, the location of your devices may not be visible at iCloud.com for a period of time.

Your device may end the security delay early after it detects that you’ve arrived at a familiar location.

If your iPhone is stolen

• Find out what to do if your iPhone is stolen

• Find out what to do if you think your Apple Account has been compromised