Apple has released a new iPhone software update, iOS 17.3, and it introduces a feature to make phone thieves’ lives more difficult.
This feature is called Stolen Device Protection. It won’t stop your phone from getting stolen, but does increase the chances of being able to track it down after the fact, and reduces the potential side effects of a stolen iPhone.
Stolen Device Protection adds additional layers of security when the device is outside of recognised locations, such as your home. Apple calls these “familiar locations.”
“Familiar locations typically include your home, work, and certain other locations where you regularly use your iPhone,” reads the Apple website.
When outside of these locations, attempting to change an Apple ID password will require an hour delay, and an additional biometric check of your face or finger (for phones with Touch ID).
Accessing passwords and stored credit/debit card information will also require a biometric check, and a passcode input won’t do as the idea is to make sure it’s definitely the owner trying to access that information.
These changes should help put the brakes on phone thieves getting into someone’s iPhone, giving them extra time to secure their account should their phone go missing.
Stolen Device Protection is an optional feature, one that can be switched on in the Face ID & Passcode section of the iPhone’s settings menu.
iOS 17.3 features
iOS 17.3 also adds some less serious, and more fun, “collaborative” features. Apple Music now has collaborative playlists, meaning multiple people can be added to the same playlists to add tracks.
These playlists will also support emoji reactions, letting those invited express their feelings about a song. A collaborative playlist with friends featuring all the songs you discover or become obsessed with could be a fun way to explore this new feature of iOS 17.3.
The new software also adds support for AirPlay in hotel rooms. You can then stream content to a hotel TV without having to log into the app on the TV itself, avoiding the all-too-common pitfall of leaving yourself signed into a hotel or AirBnb TV.
This is part of a partnership with select hotel groups, though, so it won’t apply to every hotel you visit in the future. Compatible hotel TVs will show a QR code that lets you get streaming. We do know InterContinental Hotels Group is onboard, which owns the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza chains, among others. It announced the fact back in June.
