Chuck Darwin<p>If you’ve lost your iPhone, your first step would probably be to use Apple’s Find Devices feature to pinpoint its location. </p><p>So, imagine the horror of trying to log in only to find that you’re locked out of your Apple ID<br>—someone has changed your password<br>—and that whoever has your phone has free rein over it, including access to your money through financial apps. </p><p>Without your Apple ID, you can’t kick them off or remotely wipe sensitive data from your phone. </p><p>And you may have permanently lost access to everything stored on iCloud, including your photos. </p><p>This has been the reality of hundreds, if not thousands, of people, <br>as detailed in recent reporting, which recounts stories of phone-theft victims observed entering passcodes or tricked into divulging it. </p><p>The passcode is then used to compromise their Apple ID.</p><p>What can you do to prevent this❓</p><p>Apple will be releasing a Stolen Device Protection feature in a future software update to help prevent bad actors from changing users’ account passwords. </p><p>In the meantime, and to add another layer of protection, I use Apple’s <a href="https://c.im/tags/Screen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Screen</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Time" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Time</span></a> feature to disable account changes. </p><p>This requires that another passcode be entered<br>—one a thief will likely not have gleaned by looking over your shoulder<br>—in order to do things like change your Apple ID password. </p><p>For this to work properly, make sure your iCloud account password is not saved in the Password’s keychain<br>—otherwise, someone could reset your Screen Time passcode. </p><p>⭐️To disable account changes: </p><p>Go to Settings</p><p>Click on “Screen Time”</p><p>Click on “Content & Privacy Restrictions”</p><p>Under “ALLOW CHANGES”, click on “Account Changes”</p><p>Select “Don’t allow"<br><a href="https://themarkup.org/gentle-january/2024/01/19/use-screen-time-to-protect-your-iphone-from-thieves" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">themarkup.org/gentle-january/2</span><span class="invisible">024/01/19/use-screen-time-to-protect-your-iphone-from-thieves</span></a></p>