First iOS 17.3 Beta Adds New Stolen Device Protection Feature

Apple released yesterday the first iOS 17.3 developer beta, which includes a new security feature named Stolen Device Protection. When enabled, this feature adds another layer of security to protect your iPhone in case it gets stolen.

In practice, Stolen Device Protection requires biometric authentication (Face ID or Touch ID) to access your passwords and change security settings when your iPhone is unlocked. Even if thieves get access to your iPhone’s passcode, Stolen Device Protection should prevent them from turning off the Find My iPhone feature, changing your Apple ID password, and accessing your saved passwords in Apple’s iCloud keychain.

When you’re away from a familiar location such as your home or workplace, Stolen Device Protection will also add extra safety measures: You’ll need to wait for an hour and do an extra biometric authentication before you can change your Apple ID password or update Apple security settings.

Stolen Device Protection can be enabled in Settings > Face ID (or Touch ID) & Passcode. The first public beta of iOS 17.3 should become available in the coming weeks, with the public release coming early next year. In the meantime, Apple released iOS 17.2 on Monday, and this latest release includes a new Journal app, new spatial video capture capabilities on the iPhone 15 Pro family, and more.