Having your iPhone stolen is bad enough—you're out hundreds of dollars that the phone originally cost and now you need to buy a new one—but the idea that the thief now has access to your personal data stored on the phone is even worse. Luckily, there are a few steps you can take before your phone is lost or stolen, and a few after it is, that can protect your data.
1. Set a Passcode
This is a basic security measure that you can add to your iPhone at any time. Setting a passcode will force someone to enter it when they want to access your phone. If they don't know it, they won't get in. In versions of the iOS prior to 4, passcodes are limited to four digits. In iOS 4 and higher, you can turn off that Simple Passcode and use a more complex—and thus more secure—combination of letters and numbers.
2. Delete Data on Incorrect Passcode Entries
One way to really make sure that a thief can't get your data is to set the iPhone to automatically delete all its data when the passcode is enteredly incorrectly 10 times. If you're not good at remembering your passcode you may want to be careful, but this is one of the best ways to protect your phone.
3. Use MobileMe
image copyright Apple Inc.
Apple's MobileMe service (US$99/year subscription) can be a big help if you've had your iPhone stolen. You'll need to be a subscriber prior to phone being stolen, of course, but if you are, you'll be able to:
- locate the phone via GPS
- display a message on the screen with return instructions
- set a passcode lock remotely
- delete all data on your phone remotely.
4. Remote Wipe with iPhone Apps
image copyright Appmosys LLC
