Apple rolled out the new iOS 17.3 beta today to developers and with it, the company is introducing a new feature called Stolen Device Protection. This feature will add an extra later of security for your iPhone if it ever gets stolen by a perpetrator who somehow got their hands on your passcode.
With Stolen Device Protection enabled, the phone will require Face ID or Touch ID authentication for actions such as viewing passwords in iCloud Keychain, turning off Lost Mode, erasing all content and settings, using saved payment methods in Safari, and using your iPhone to set up a new device. Be warned that in the case where you can’t complete the biometric authentication, you can’t use a passcode as a backup method.
Going an extra step, there are also extra-sensitive actions that have a one-hour security delay alongside the biometric authentication requirement with the featured turned on, including changing your Apple ID password, changing your passcode, updating security settings, adding or removing Face ID or Touch ID, turning off Find My, and even turning off Stolen Device Protection.
The feature will be opt-in, meaning that each iPhone user will need to manually turn it on in the settings. It will be available to all iPhones compatible with iOS 17, which includes the iPhone XS and newer. This is only the first beta but given that iOS 17.2 came out yesterday, we can expect the public release of iOS 17.3 to roll out some time in the next couple of months.
(Source: MacRumors)
