• A report claims Apple is working on a new theft protection feature for iOS
• This will automatically lock your iPhone if it’s stolen
• It uses your iPhone’s sensors to detect if it’s been snatched from your hands

Phone theft has become such an epidemic in places like London that a device is snatched every eight minutes in the UK’s capital, according to the latest government data. In 2024, Android launched its Theft Detection Lock feature in a bid to fight back, and now it looks like Apple is about to follow suit.

That's because 9to5Mac claims to have seen unreleased iOS code that hints at this feature. If it comes to fruition, it could mean users of both major phone operating systems have a way to keep their private info out of the hands of thieves.

It sounds like Apple’s idea could be a simple yet effective system. The report says iOS will use various signals — including your iPhone’s accelerometer and the distance of the phone from a paired Apple Watch — to work out when the device has been quickly taken from your hands. When that happens, it automatically locks your iPhone, keeping your data shut off from the thief.

Once iOS has confirmed those criteria and has locked your iPhone, it then checks if your device is on a familiar Wi-Fi network and at a familiar location. If not, additional safety measures come into effect, including requiring Face ID or Touch ID to access credit cards and passwords and adding a time delay to changing your Apple Account password. These mirror what you’ll find with Apple’s Stolen Device Protection feature.

Better protection

While Stolen Device Protection, Activation Lock and Find My are all useful, they don’t fully protect you in all circumstances. That’s because having your phone suddenly snatched out of your hands has one major disadvantage for you (and a big advantage for the crooks) in that your device is likely to be unlocked.

If an iPhone is unlocked, the thief can still access many of the most personal and sensitive elements on your device, including your address book, emails, recent texts, and more. And that’s a sizable problem.

But when this rumored theft protection feature locks an iPhone, it adds an additional layer of security. The thieves must then get past your passcode or biometric authentication in order to access your phone’s innards rather than having everything on display for them. And with additional features like Stolen Device Protection, it should help keep your data even safer.

It’s worth noting that Apple hasn’t made any announcement of this feature yet, and it instead appears to have been unearthed in unreleased iOS code. While Apple could announce it at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 8, it might also be simply testing the idea without any release commitment.

But if the feature is going to make an appearance this year, WWDC would be a good time for Apple to lift the lid on it.

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Alex Blake has been fooling around with computers since the early 1990s, and since that time he's learned a thing or two about tech. No more than two things, though. That's all his brain can hold. As well as TechRadar, Alex writes for iMore, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was previously commissioning editor at MacFormat magazine. That means he mostly covers the world of Apple and its latest products, but also Windows, computer peripherals, mobile apps, and much more beyond. When not writing, you can find him hiking the English countryside and gaming on his PC.