Apple releasing security feature to protect against passcode-stealing thieves

Apple is releasing a new security feature for iPhones to protect users from thieves who learn their passcodes that unlock their phones. The move appears to be in response to a report by The Wall Street Journal earlier this year on criminals stealing iPhones after watching users type in their passcodes. 

Thieves then lock victims out of various accounts after using the code and changing passwords to apps and services found on the phone. To counter those attacks, Apple has announced it will be rolling out a new setting called Stolen Device Protection.

With Stolen Device Protection turned on, an iPhone will restrict certain settings, like changing passwords when it’s away from a location familiar to the user.

If a request is made to change a password, the iPhone will require a Face ID or Touch ID from the user; there will then be an hour-long delay, at which time another Face ID or Touch ID scan will be needed to confirm the action, then and only then, can the password be changed.

An Apple spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch that the iPhone maker is testing new security measures as threats to user devices are evolving.

“iPhone data encryption has long led the industry, and a thief can’t access data on a stolen iPhone without knowing the user’s passcode,” the spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch. “In the rare cases where a thief can observe the user entering the passcode and then steal the device, Stolen Device Protection adds a sophisticated new layer of protection.”

iPhone users are still encouraged to hide their passcode when in public and never give it out to strangers. The feature is only available to members of Apple’s beta software program as it has not yet been released to the public.