It’s a common worry that someone might try to unlock your iPhone without your consent if you leave it somewhere unattended, and since iOS allows several passcode attempts before it initiates a passcode lockout timer, it’s possible for someone to continue guessing your passcode time and time again. Unfortunately, iOS doesn’t provide any way to letting you know when someone does this, leaving the user completely oblivious to such attacks.
Enter Handcuff (iOS 13), a newly released jailbreak tweak by iOS developer Ahmed that alerts users to attacks of the aforementioned variety. If or when a passcode is entered incorrectly or a power down is attempted, Handcuff alerts the user to this activity via email and via text message and includes a selfie image of the offender trying to conduct said mischief.
Once installed, Handcuff adds a preference pane to the Settings app where users can configure the tweak’s behavior:
Here, you can:
- Trigger the tweak when an incorrect passcode gets entered
- Trigger the tweak when a device power down gets attempted
- Save any selfie images captured by the tweak to your Photo Library
- Configure an email address to send the selfie to
- Configure a phone number to send the selfie to
- Choose the number of times that a user will be allowed to reattempt your passcode before Handcuff kicks in
Handcuff certainly isn’t the first jailbreak tweak to bring anti-theft selfies to jailbroken iPhones, but it’s perhaps one of the lightest-weight options available for iOS 13 today. Moreover, it works behind the scenes, so the potential iPhone thief won’t even know that they’re having their picture taken when they attempt to gain unauthorized entry to your device.
Those interested in trying Handcuff (iOS 13) can purchase the tweak for $1.49 from the Dynastic Repo repository via their preferred package manager. The tweak supports jailbroken iOS 13 devices.
Do you like the concept of anti-theft jailbreak tweaks such as Handcuff? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.