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Keeping your phone secure requires effort — it isn’t just going to happen. And it helps to know which settings you can change to safeguard your device from people who would love to get ahold of your personal information.
This is the scary setting you need to change ASAP, according to a security expert.
Setting Encrypted Messages To Auto-Delete
You may not think much about it when you send a text to a friend or family member, but there’s good news and not-so-good news when it comes to your privacy and texts.
First, the good news: iOS automatically uses end-to-end encryption on all of the messages sent via its Messages app, according to Fast Company. No need to worry about anyone who isn’t able to see your device in front of them actually reading those messages.
But that doesn’t mean your messages will always be protected.
Should someone get ahold of your phone, end-to-end encryption is not going to keep them from being able to read your messages.
There’s a setting in your phone that you can set to auto-delete messages, instead of keeping them hanging out on your phone for a period of time.
According to Fast Company: “By default, iOS will store all your iMessages on your phone forever—and they will be transferred to your new phone when you get one … Beyond issues of privacy, years’ worth of text messages can take up an insane amount of space on your smartphone.”
Ready to set up auto-delete on your settings? It takes just a few minutes and will prevent anyone from reading your messages. Go to Settings>Messages>Keep Messages. From there you’ll be able to choose among 30 days, one year, or forever (the setting is set by default to forever). Change it to 30 days and enjoy the peace of mind of knowing your messages won’t get into the wrong hands.
