Harden your iPhone
Apple gives you genuinely strong privacy tools - but several of the best ones are off by default or buried. Twenty minutes in Settings turns them on. Paths below are for a recent iOS; if Apple has moved something, the feature name still works in Settings search.
Keep it current
Settings → General → Software Update → Automatic Updates: turn on both download and install, and turn on Security Responses so urgent fixes land fast. Most attacks rely on a bug that’s already been patched; staying current closes them.
Lock the front door properly
Settings → Face ID & Passcode: set a word-and-numbers passphrase rather than six digits - tap Passcode Options → Custom Alphanumeric Code. Keep Face ID for convenience. On the same screen and nearby, two more wins: stop notification contents appearing on the lock screen (Settings → Notifications → Show Previews → When Unlocked or Never), and set Accessories so the phone won’t talk to USB devices while locked - that blocks the cable-based cracking tools.
Turn on Stolen Device Protection
The underrated one. If a thief watches you type your passcode and then grabs the phone, your passcode would normally unlock everything. Stolen Device Protection requires Face ID plus an hour’s delay before the sensitive changes - your Apple Account password, turning off Find My - can be made away from home. Settings → Face ID & Passcode → Stolen Device Protection, and set the Security Delay to Always.
Switch on Advanced Data Protection - the big one
By default Apple can access some of your iCloud data, and hand it over if compelled. Advanced Data Protection makes your iCloud backup, Photos, Notes and more end-to-end encrypted - only your own devices hold the keys. Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Advanced Data Protection. You’ll set a recovery key or recovery contact as part of it - do that carefully (see the note below).
Find My, set up properly
Settings → [your name] → Find My: turn on Find My iPhone, plus the Find My network (so you can locate it even when it’s offline) and Send Last Location. With Stolen Device Protection on, a thief can’t simply switch this off.
Cut the tracking
A cluster of quick toggles under Settings → Privacy & Security: open Tracking and turn off “Allow Apps to Request to Track”; open Apple Advertising and turn off “Personalized Ads”; open Location Services and set apps to “While Using” with precise location off where it isn’t essential (and consider turning off System Services → Significant Locations). Then Settings → Apps → Mail → Privacy Protection → “Protect Mail Activity,” which hides whether you’ve opened an email and masks your IP.
Lock down the Apple Account - it holds everything
Settings → [your name] → Sign-In & Security: make sure two-factor is on, your trusted phone numbers are current, and set a Recovery Key or Recovery Contact. For higher risk, add hardware Security Keys. Whoever gets your Apple Account gets your whole iCloud - this is the lock on the entire house.
If you’re at higher risk
Two tools for people who are specifically targeted. Lockdown Mode (Settings → Privacy & Security → Lockdown Mode) strips back the features attackers exploit - blunt, but effective for journalists, public figures and activists. Safety Check (Settings → Privacy & Security → Safety Check) lets you quickly review and cut who can see your location and data, built with abusive-relationship situations in mind.
Advanced Data Protection cuts both ways
Once it’s on, Apple genuinely cannot get into your data - which means if you lose your password and your recovery key and your recovery contact, the data is gone for good. That’s the point of real encryption. So set up a recovery key or contact now and keep it somewhere safe (with the passport, not on the phone). For most people the protection is well worth it - just don’t skip the recovery step.
If you only do three
Update, a proper alphanumeric passcode with lock-screen previews hidden, and Stolen Device Protection set to Always. That covers out-of-date, over-your-shoulder, and stolen - the three that actually happen.
EFF Surveillance Self-Defense · iPhone →
Last reviewed: 12 October 2026.