As we continue to integrate technology into our everyday lives cybersecurity is becoming an ever-growing necessity. This is especially important for our phones and personal devices which store a multitude of personal information. Apple and Android are continuing to come out with new ways to protect your information even when your device is lost or stolen. Below are the ways to turn on this device protection for each type of phone.
Apple Devices:
Apple with the release of IOS 17.3 or later has enabled a new security option called Stolen Device Protection. This enables FaceID or TouchID which uses either your camera or fingerprint to validate your identity when trying to access or change your personal information. This can be enabled in the settings app under the Face ID & Passcode section. It will require you to enter your passcode before you scroll down and select 'Stolen Device Protection'. Please note, if you do not use FaceID or TouchID currently, you will need to enable that before proceeding. You can then turn on 'Stolen Device Protection'. It will prompt you to select either 'Away from familiar locations', which will monitor your location when you are away from home or work, or 'Always' which will have the Stolen Device Protection active at all times regardless of your location.
Android Devices:
Android uses the Find My Device app to allow you to remotely lock and wipe all data from your device, if necessary. This is linked through your Google account, and once added to your device, the Find My Device app will be automatically activated. If your device is lost or stolen, you can use the Find My Device app either by googling it on any computer and signing in with your google account information or using another device’s Find My Device app and signing in. You will be prompted to select the device that has been lost or stolen and it will send a notification to the lost device. You may be prompted to enter the lock screen PIN to locate the device. This will show the location of the device on a map so that it can be recovered. As you get closer to the device you can select 'Find Nearby' and it will indicate the proximity you are to the device. You can also select 'Play a Sound' which will play a tone that allows you to easily locate the device if it is nearby. In the event that you can not locate the device, you can select 'Secure the Device' which will lock the phone and require a PIN or password to access the device. You can also add a message and phone number to be displayed on the lock screen in the event that the phone is found so someone may contact you. The last option is to 'Fully Delete and Erase the Device' if it is unrecoverable or stolen. Once you select this option, it will walk you through the steps to erase all data from the device and protect all of your personal information from getting into the wrong hands.
It is great to see that companies are realizing how important cybersecurity is to our everyday lives and taking the matter seriously. These changes in mobile device software helps provide a greater depth of security and keep us prepared for the unexpected event of losing or having your device stolen.