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If you're lucky, getting your iPhone stolen results only in a temporary headache. But that's not the case for everyone.
Some people have had to deal with serious financial fallout, identity theft and the loss of years' worth of personal data. Michael Mathews, who's suing Apple over access to his data, alleges that the theft of his iPhone and Apple's withholding of the files stored in his iCloud account meant the end of his consulting business.
That doesn't have to be you. By taking a few precautions, you can dramatically reduce the fallout that comes with a lost or stolen iPhone. And most of these tips won't take more than a few moments to act on.
Here's what you should make sure to do while you still have your iPhone, and what you should keep in mind if it ever gets stolen.
• Before the theft
Turn on Stolen Device Protection. Apple knows that iPhones are major targets for thieves, and built software tools - like Stolen Device Protection - to make it harder for thieves to wreak havoc on your data and accounts.
When your iPhone isn't somewhere it recognizes, like home or work, Stolen Device Protection locks passwords and credit cards behind a Face ID scan, and force you to wait an hour to do things like changing your Apple account password.
By Apple's own admission, Stolen Device Protection won't keep thieves at bay forever - but this feature can buy you at least a few more moments to lock down your iPhone if someone runs off with it. To turn it on, make sure your iPhone is up-to-date and open the Settings app. Then tap the "Face ID and passcode" option, find the Stolen Device Protection option and start setting it up.
Rethink your security. Turning on Stolen Device Protection requires you to enable Face ID, which is generally a good idea anyway - more authentication methods mean more hurdles for thieves to clear. (In case you were worried, your biometric data is encrypted and never leaves your phone.) But you may also want to rethink how else you unlock your phone - especially if you're still using a passcode that is just four digits long.
By default, Apple recommends setting a passcode that's at least six digits long. For added protection, though, you can create a custom numeric code that includes any number of digits you like, or a full-blown, alphanumeric password.
Lock down your key apps. In some cases, victims reported that thieves gained access to banking and other accounts because they were still logged in to specific apps and websites. To make it harder for criminals to access that information, you can force apps that contain your sensitive data to require a Face ID check before they open.
To do this, long-press an app icon on your home screen or in your App Library, then tap "Require Face ID."
Don't just use iCloud backups. If a thief is especially motivated - or especially cruel - they can use built-in iPhone features like recovery keys to lock you out of your Apple account entirely. But there's one easy way to keep this from happening: Back up your data locally, not just in the cloud.
Connect your iPhone to your computer, and use either iTunes (Windows) or Finder (Mac) to view your iPhone's settings. Then, tick the option for backing up your iPhone's data to your computer. Once that's done, it'll store a copy of its data onto your computer whenever it's plugged in. If you want, you can switch back to iCloud backups after you have saved one locally.
Normally, you can't open these iPhone backup files to see what's inside, so this process is mostly helpful if your iPhone gets stolen and you need to set up a replacement. If you want to save a copy of all of the data associated with your Apple account so you can poke through it all, visit privacy.apple.com, log in and choose which of your data you would like to download. (We recommend all of it, if your computer has enough storage.)
• After the theft
Activate Lost Mode as fast as you can. Your first instinct might be to file a police report, and you should - but not until you have locked down your iPhone.
If possible, borrow a friend's phone or find a trustworthy computer, fire up the web browser and visit icloud.com/find. Once you log in, you'll be able to see where all of your Apple devices are. Find the one that got stolen and mark it as "Lost." If you followed our advice and turned on Stolen Device Protection, turning on Lost Mode will prevent anyone from getting into your phone without passing a Face ID scan - even thieves who figured out your passcode.
Consider erasing it. If you've been diligent about making backups, you may want to consider remotely erasing your phone once you feel you won't get it back anytime soon. You can do this by visiting icloud.com/find, as you would to turn on Lost Mode, and clicking the Erase button.
You will feel adrift without a working phone - but making this decision fast enough can help revoke a thief's access to your data and keep them from getting into your other accounts. You'll still be able to see the phone's location once you've erased it, as long as you don't remove the device from your Apple account.
Be on high alert for fraudulent texts. It's not uncommon for victims of an iPhone theft to get subsequent text messages imploring them to click links or turn off features like Find My.
If you ever get one, ignore it: It's very likely an attempt to get more of your data or to put your old iPhone in a state that makes it easier to sell. In the case of a message that feels like it really could be legitimate, contact Apple Support for a sanity check.