From making two-factor authentication mandatory for all personal Apple Accounts to letting you control which apps can access your personal data, Apple does a good job of maintaining your privacy and security.
Aside from things turned on by default or being pretty popular with many iPhone users, there are a few that are not enabled out of the box, but you can turn on and use them to maximize your safety. We’ll talk about 5 such optional features here.
1. Stolen Device Protection
After you turn on Stolen Device Protection, your iPhone starts a one-hour timer and then needs you to authenticate with Face ID (not just the device passcode) to confirm ownership before allowing you to do things like changing Apple Account password, resetting device passcode, turning off Find My, and more.
Stolen Device Protection is meant to deter seasoned thieves who steal your device and the device passcode, using overhead cameras or similar methods, from causing significant damage. Since they can’t verify ownership with Face ID, they won’t be able to do things like turn off Find My location tracking.
You can turn it on from iOS Settings > Face ID & Passcode after learning all about it here: Why and how to turn off Stolen Device Protection on iPhone
2. Advanced Data Protection
Many things stored in iCloud are already end-to-end encrypted, meaning no one except you can access that content. This includes iMessage, your health data, saved passwords, journal data, browsing history, and more.
The optional Advanced Data Protection enables end-to-end protection for many other things, such as your iPhone backup in iCloud, files in iCloud Drive, iCloud Photos, iCloud Notes, iCloud Reminders, voice memos, etc.
You can turn on Advanced Data Protection from iPhone Settings > iCloud. We have a full tutorial explaining all the ins and outs of this incredibly important feature: Why and how to enable Advanced Data Protection for iCloud
3. Lockdown Mode
This over-the-top feature is for a tiny and particularly influential group of people, such as journalists, politicians, scientists, and the like, who think they may have been personally targeted by sophisticated cyberattacks and spyware.
Lockdown Mode limits certain apps, websites, and features to prevent you from getting harmful viruses, software, or tracking codes on the device. You can turn it on from Settings > Privacy & Security > Lockdown Mode, and learn all about it in our dedicated tutorial: How to protect your iPhone, iPad, and Mac from cyberattacks with Lockdown Mode
4. Wired Accessories
One of the main ways to get backdoor entry to your iPhone is via a wired connection. You can prevent this by setting your iPhone to always ask for your permission before allowing wired connections. And to allow the permission, you must unlock your device first. Since the person who has your iPhone likely doesn’t have its passcode, they won’t be able to connect to your iPhone to a special software via cable.
Go to iOS 26 Settings > Privacy & Security > Wired Accessories and select Always Ask or Ask for New Accessories. Moving forward, your iPhone will ask permission to connect to wired accessories.
5. Erase all data if someone tries to forcefully get it
iOS adds a time-based delay after entering the wrong passcode multiple times, eventually leading to permanent blocking with an absurdly long waiting period, which requires a full factory reset to make the iPhone usable again.
iPhone passcode already secures your personal data, but if you still have reservations, you can turn on the extra Erase Data toggle in iOS Settings > Face ID & Passcode, which will nuke everything on the device after someone has entered incorrect passcode ten times.
If you turn it on, just remember not to hand over your device to kids, who may enter the wrong passcode inadvertently and erase your iPhone.
Which of these features do you already use?