Cell phones have undoubtedly become an extension of human lives – they have practically become an extension of one’s body and consciousness. Perhaps, your cell phone is one-of-a-kind and with all the settings as well as personal data, one can say that it’s as unique as your fingerprint that your phone probably knows as well.
Therefore, you’ll want to keep your phone as secure as possible, and it’s crystal clear that iPhone security is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly. For instance, you wouldn’t want strangers reading your medical records or your 8th grade diary.
iPhones are powerful computers and when coupled with a few security settings they can serve you extra ordinarily. Luckily, Apple has ensured that the security of your iPhone is in your hands, thanks to the fact that they’ve provided privacy features in your settings app. So, what do you need to do to ensure that your iPhone is top security alert?
Well, to improve your iOS device’s security, here some of the steps you should take;
Enable two factor authentication – unlike the one-factor authentication, the two-factor authentication for passwords uses verification codes sent to a second source to ensure that no one can easily access your accounts. A road map to set the two-factor authentication on iPhones is to navigate to; settings -> Password & security -> Two-factor authentication.
Ensure that tracking is disabled – although iPhone strictly restricts apps from tracking users, it is advisable that you disable tracking. Go to; Settings -> Privacy & Security ->Tracking -> Allow Apps to Request to Track (Switch off).
Filter your location services – it is impossible to switch off location services on any device but you can restrict location services to essential apps that need that service like Maps. This will reduce the risk of being tracked.
Secure your password – a four numerical password is easier to hack compared to a six- or eight-character password. Increasing your password characters from four to eight as it is provided in many iOS versions exposes you to hacking increase. This is due to the fact that a four-character password has fewer possible combinations compared to a longer password making it easy to guess.
Disable fingerprint unlock – fingerprint unlocks are easy to unlock as one can easily tap your fingerprints. So, to be safe it is recommended that you should disable your fingerprint unlock system to decrease the risk of being hacked.
Limit the screen details when locked – sometimes the iPhone’s display can give access to personal information when locked. Fortunately, you can limit through settings what can be displayed when the phone is locked. For this feature go to; Settings -> Touch ID/Face ID & Passcode -> Allow Access When Locked (Switch off).
Limit Siri usage – Siri can be a gateway in iPhones where Apps or internet service providers can breach your privacy. It is therefore useful to limit Apps that use Siri as this reduces the frequency of privacy breach by monitoring what you are searching on the internet.
What are the Best Alternatives to Apple Apps?
During the launch of iOS 16, iPhone users were treated to an upgrade of end-to-end encryption for most apps but emails, contacts, and the calendar were notably absent from the list of upgrades.
That is due to the fact that they had to remain as they are to match the universal standard for email service providers, and the calendar system. However, iOS users can use third party service providers that provide safe avenues for using these left out apps.
ProtonMail
Based in the heart of privacy-friendly Switzerland, ProtonMail is an email service company that provides end-to-end encrypted mailing. This is very advantageous to iOS users as it ensures that not even Apple itself can spy on your online activities. Emails are stored in Proton servers using zero-access encryption and can only be decrypted using your private key. This ensures that not even Proton itself can spy on your emails. Also, with Proton it is guaranteed that there will be no use of your metadata to create advertisements.
Why You Should Use Proton
Nevertheless, the iPhone encrypts its messages in iCloud unless you have jailbroken it, and it has been accused of using metadata for advertisement purposes. This then should be reason enough for privacy lovers to adopt the use of third-party service providers to securely rely these important services to iOS users.
Another alternative product to the unencrypted iCalendar App is the Proton Calendar. This calendar provides high level encryption on your data ensuring that there are no data leaks at all. Further, the Proton calendar increases efficiency as through the proton emails you can swiftly create schedules and reminders without leaving the mailing app.
Security Threats that iPhones Face
Contrary to the normal assumptions, iPhones face a lot of threats such as trust jacking, hacking and malware threats, device loss, phishing, and public Wi-Fi among others. The threats can be many depending on how you handle your iPhone.
So, how will you know that your iPhone has been hacked? Here are some of the signs that you should be aware;
- iPhone is slow
- Sudden spike in data usage
- Battery draining faster than normal
- iPhone suddenly stops working or shuts down abruptly
- Suspicious activity on the iPhone apps and accounts
Conclusion
To sign off, it is true to acknowledge that iPhones are almost completely impenetrable but they have not yet reached the 100% hallmark. It is therefore mindful for iOS users to couple the iPhone safety features with third-party services to beef up security. This helps to create an extra layer of defense if you are exposed to cyber-attacks, unlawful tracking and internet censorship.
