iPhone users urged to turn on new setting that stops thieves even when they get into your phone

In Apple's latest system update for the iPhone there's a handy security measure which you'll want to know about if you don't want anyone who steals your phone to mess with your data.

Let's face it, if someone nicks your phone it's going to be a serious problem since you've got a serious amount of personal information on there.

First things first, if your phone gets stolen then you need to tell the police and your service provider within the first 24 hours.

They'll be able to block your device and help you get set up with a new phone, but to be extra sure Apple has brought in a new Stolen Device Protection feature.

You'll need to download iOS 17.3 to access this feature and once you do it's best to turn it on.

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After downloading the update you'll need to go into your phone's settings and select the 'Face ID & Passcode' menu.

From there put in your passcode and turn on Stolen Device Protection from there, so once this is on your phone will require either a successful face or fingerprint ID check to access your wallet and stored passcodes on the phone.

It means that only your face or fingerprint can make the phone pay for something.

This setting also triggers an hour-long delay on attempts to reset the phone's passcode if the device is in an unusual location which gives the original user more time to report it as stolen.

Attempting to delete the phone's settings or content to essentially wipe the device and make it available for sale again will also hit this ID barrier, so it sounds like you could do with getting this privacy feature installed.

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An Apple spokesperson said of the new feature: "In the event that your iPhone is stolen, the security delay is designed to prevent a thief from performing critical operations so that you can mark your device as lost and make sure your Apple account is secure."

Anything that makes a phone less worth stealing without screwing over the person it actually belongs to seems like a good idea.

Do remember the other security stuff you can do with your phone, including 'expiring' old passwords that someone scoping out your phone with a mind to steal it might already have clocked.

While you're digging around in your phone's settings you might want to make a few other stops in the event that some of the things running in the background on your iPhone are just killing the battery.