Feature-rich and sophisticated iPhones are not without risks; Their multipurpose nature makes them a reservoir of personal and confidential data. So, any kind of privacy threat to your Apple device could seriously endanger your safety.
Common Threats to iPhone Privacy
Before taking preventative measures, understanding how your privacy and safety could be jeopardized is important.
Common threats you could face include:
● Loss or theft of your iPhone
Once your phone exchanges hands, you will lose critical data, including your contact list, messages, and photos. In addition, you may have logged into email accounts or saved passwords to enable easy access. If so, anyone who holds your iPhone could potentially gain access to them all.
Many people also use two-factor authentication features that send passcodes to the phone. So, a stolen Apple device stands to compromise accounts guarded by 2FA, too.
● Unwelcomed intrusions
Strangers could peek at your screen when you are sitting at a café or waiting in a supermarket queue—a behavior commonly known as shoulder surfing. This seemingly innocent practice could allow hackers to effortlessly note passwords and other confidential information.
● Hacking and malware threats
These are deliberate attacks launched to gain access to personal data, with or without your awareness. For instance, ransomware could take your data hostage and demand a crypto payment in exchange for its release. Malware, however, could quietly collect critical information without your knowledge.
● Data collection by companies
Data is a valuable asset. So, businesses deploy various tactics to get their hands on your personal information. From the apps you download to the browser you surf the internet on, every entity you are in contact with could be monitoring your phone activity. Even Apple collects a large amount of user data, including downloads and purchases.
What can these businesses do with your data? They can improve their products and services, display ads, and customize information and services to better match your preferences and interests. But they could also sell or share them with third parties. And if the information they hold gets breached by a hacking attack, your data could end up on the dark web, making you a target for identity theft and various other crimes.
Privacy Tips for iPhone Users
Here are simple measures to secure your privacy:
1. Lock the screen
The screen lock is an essential feature on your iPhone to prevent intrusions when your smartphone is left somewhere without supervision.
You can set up a passcode by selecting “Face ID & Passcode” under Settings. But ensure you choose a code that does not represent an easily guessable numerical combination, such as a birthday or a house number.
Another option is to enable Touch and Face ID features, which use fingerprint and facial recognition technology to prevent unauthorized screen access. However, some experts advise against this because of the risk of a biometric data breach during a hacking attack.
2. Activate Find My iPhone
This is an important feature Apple provides to locate lost devices and protect your data. After all, losing a phone is every user’s worst nightmare. But when you have connected it to your Apple ID and activated Find My iPhone, you can quickly locate its whereabouts using another Apple device.
3. Protect Your Apple ID
Apple ID allows you to manage various Apple services, including the App Store, iCloud, and iMessage, on your iPhone and other Apple devices. It also provides essential security services. For instance, it keeps backups of critical personal data, from your photos, documents, and bookmarks to calendar notes, contacts, passwords, and locations. It makes data recovery easier in the event of device theft, loss, or damage.
In addition, Apple ID authenticates users and monitors their account activities. This allows it to notify you if your account is accessed from an unfamiliar device.
So, protecting your Apple ID is imperative for your iPhone’s safety. Use two-factor authentication and keep passwords secure without sharing them with others.
4. Update Software
Developers regularly release updates for operating systems and applications with improved features and patches for preventing security vulnerabilities. Installing these updates is important for the security and functionality of your device.
By enabling automatic updates, you can effortlessly ensure updates get downloaded as they are released.
5. Prevent Safari from data tracking
Safari is often the favored browser for iPhone users. It comes equipped with several features for you to take control of data safety.
For instance, you can disable location tracking to prevent your browser and websites from monitoring your whereabouts. Cross-site tracking and suggestions are two other features to deactivate.
Meanwhile, Safe Mode and Incognito are excellent tools for secure and private browsing. Regularly deleting browsing history, cookies, and cached data is also crucial to prevent unnecessary data collection.
6. Avoid unverified links and attachments
Links and attachments from unverified sources could lead to malware and ransomware downloads. The result is often theft of sensitive personal data or a hostile takeover of your device.
So, before you click, verify the sender’s identity by searching the number on PhoneHistory. Another useful tip is downloading a scam and spam blocker such as Call Protect.
7. Monitor app downloads
The Apple App Store hosts nearly 1.8 million apps for movie streaming, games, shopping, banking, news, social media, and various other services, generating billions of downloads.
Apps could add significant functionality to your smartphone. However, there are hidden dangers attached to them. For instance, malicious actors could launch applications to install viruses on users’ devices. This is why experts recommend downloading apps from the App Store, which uses screening criteria before listing applications.
However, this doesn’t guarantee complete protection from malware apps. Minimizing downloads is the best course of action to avoid them.
You need to practice caution with regular apps, too. Tracking, storing, and selling personal data is a common practice among mobile applications. Therefore, disabling access permissions is another essential step. This will allow you to prevent apps from accessing location details, contact lists, messages, app activities, and similar information.
In Summary
Despite Apple’s sophisticated security features, iPhone users are not immune to privacy threats. Loss or theft of your phone or a data breach could provide third parties with easy access to personal data. So, take effective measures today and make privacy a priority to protect your data and ensure personal safety.