Many tech privacy experts focus on what to do before you suspect or can confirm your iPhone has been hacked so that can you prevent it from happening. While these are helpful and important tips for sure, they aren’t going to get you through the tough job of figuring out how to handle a hack after the ugly act has occurred. Fortunately, Apple has included sophisticated settings that make it possible to push the pause and rewind button when you’ve been hacked — and it just takes a few minutes of your time to enable them and protect your data before a hacker gets access to your personal information. Privacy experts agree: you need to turn on this security setting ASAP if your iPhone has been hacked.
Safety Check
Did you know your iPhone has a setting that literally checks for invaders so that you can keep aware of who has access to your data at any given moment? The Safety Check feature allows you to instantly and conveniently reset the access to data that you’ve doled out to apps and people over the years (whether you know you’ve done so or not). In the process, it will also prompt you to change your Apple ID password as an added security measure. As an added precaution, this feature even revokes access to locations you may have shared with people or apps and logs you out of iCloud on every synched device.
How To Access Safety Check
The process is simple: Open Settings > Privacy > Safety Check > Emergency Reset the moment you suspect you’ve been hacked. You’ll need to enter your touch ID or pin before confirming by tapping Start Emergency Reset. Now tap Reset People & Apps and then tap Reset and you’ll be asked to change your Apple ID password and review/remove any contacts that have access to your phone’s data.
Set Up Two-Factor Authentication
Of course, prevention is still key to minimizing your chances of being hacked. Tech Expert Kavin Patel, founder and CEO of Convrrt, says it’s common for applications and websites to provide two-factor or multi-factor authentication as an additional layer of security for their users.
“If you get the chance, you should always take advantage of this opportunity,” Patel says. “When you try to sign in, you must use both your password and a one-of-a-kind code to gain access. If possible, avoid using SMS for two-factor authentication. If a bad actor manages to get hold of your phone number, they won't be able to use it to log in as you.”
Use A Password Manager Or Create Strong Passwords
Another smart move to protect yourself is to use a password manager or create strong, complex passwords that can’t easily be figured out.
“The majority of people use the same password for all of their accounts,” says Tech Expert Steve Elliott, Franchise Owner of Restoration1. “Don't do it. Because if a hacker gets into one of your accounts, they instantly have access to all of them. A decent password rule of thumb is to include capital and lowercase letters, a number, and a special character. I understand that setting a unique password for each of your accounts that includes all of those things might be tough to remember. To help you keep all of those passwords, you may use Keychain on iOS or a third-party software like 1Password. Both of these programs will also suggest a unique, secure password for each of your accounts.”
Getting hacked may be your worst tech nightmare, but these before AND after tips on steps you should take will help put you in control of the situation.
