Thankfully, despite a lengthy legal battle, the FBI has not won the right to create a backdoor into your private electronics. The U.S. government cannot force citizens to write anything against their will, even software. It also cannot force people to testify against themselves. Because of this, no police agency can force American citizens to report their passcode to unlock their phones. However, U.S. law never protected biometrics. Long before electronics, police used fingerprints to track down criminals. With advancements in technology, they’ve moved to DNA as well, back to fingerprints for Touch ID, and now on to your face with Face ID. Your body can absolutely betray you.
The FBI recently forced a suspect to unlock their iPhone X with their face, the first known case of this happening. Thanks to this, the FBI was able to arrest the suspect for possession of child pornography, a win for law enforcement and all Americans. Another creep behind bars.
Because your face is part of your person, any policing agency is free to use it, as well they should. While your constitutional rights protect your personal data, they shouldn’t extend to the evidence you leave behind. However, if you’re worried about police or—more likely—thieves unlocking your phone, I’ve got a few tips for you.
How to Really Lock Your Phone
Someone could break into your phone, simply by pointing it at you. That might make you nervous. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to make your iPhone more secure in general, and two cool tricks you can do while handing over your phone to really lock it, so not even your face can unlock it, only your passcode.
Before Handing Over Your Phone
There are two things you can do before handing over your phone to lock it down to your passcode. First, you can press the Siri/Lock button five times quickly. This will make a loud noise, and will send out an emergency SOS call to the police. You can cancel it within three seconds, though I don’t recommend testing this method out. This might not be something you’d want to use if you had to stay quiet, but it is a very quick and easy method.
The other method is to hold the Siri/Lock button down along with any volume button for three seconds. This will bring up the dialog to turn your phone off. However, if you press the cancel button, your phone will remain on, however, it’ll disable Face ID until you enter your passcode. Either method would be enough to prevent a thief or officer from getting into your phone without your permission.
Long Before Handing Over Your Phone
Before you ever hand over your iPhone, you’re going to want to enable a few security features. Many are enabled by default, but it’s good to ensure they’re turned on. First, if you’re using Face ID, make sure attention aware features are on. Turn on “Require Attention for Face ID.” You may also want to turn on Attention Aware Features, which can dim your screen and lock it when you’re not paying attention to your device. If you have issues looking at your device with your eyes though, due to blindness or an issue of muscle control, you’ll want to keep these features off.
Next, you’ll want to make sure that your phone requires a passcode immediately after it’s locked. This removes a gray area where your phone screen can be off, but it’s not locked. This is also enabled by default. In iOS 12, a new feature will lock out the Lightning port on your device, so USB devices cannot take control of your phone. In the past, USB devices like the Graykey were used to hack into people’s smartphones. These devices are now rendered useless. Finally, turn on Erase Data, which will erase everything on your iPhone after 10 failed unlock attempts. Don’t turn that on if you have kids though, chances are, they’ll erase your phone trying to get to your games at some point.
Stay Secure
It might seem silly to make sure your devices are this secure. You might say, “But I’ll never commit a crime, what do I have to worry?” And, perhaps you never will commit a crime. Or perhaps you’ll be wrongfully arrested in a supermarket, or walking down the street at night. Maybe you’ll be arrested for jaywalking. Perhaps you won’t be arrested, but instead, someone will try to snatch your phone while you’re waiting for the bus or train. Maybe someone will break into your home. Regardless, you wouldn’t want a thief to have your personal information and the information of your loved ones, would you? Of course not. That’s why it’s perfectly normal to keep yourself safe. Don’t be a victim when it takes only a few minutes to improve your security.
Source: Roger Fingas, AppleInsider