Set a Passcode

Everyone should use a passcode. The passcode protects your photos, messages, browser history, and more from prying eyes. Here’s how to configure it:

1. Go to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode (or Settings > Passcode, or Settings > Face ID & Passcode).

2. Tap Turn Passcode On.

3. Enter a passcode.

4. Enter the passcode again to verify.

5. Consider enabling Settings > Touch ID (or Face ID) & Passcode > Erase Data. This feature automatically erases everything on a device after ten failed passcode attempts. If you recover the device, you can restore it from a backup, though that might be difficult or impossible while traveling.

Set Up Touch ID

Touch ID, available on many iPhones and iPads, lets you scan your fingerprint on the Home button instead of typing a passcode. In many cases, it also replaces your having to enter a password, such as the one that goes with your Apple ID.

If you have a Touch ID–equipped device, you were prompted to set up Touch ID when you set up the device. But in case you skipped that step, or want to edit your settings, here’s how:

1. Go to Settings > Touch ID & Passcode. (If you see only Settings > Passcode, either your device lacks Touch ID hardware or something is wrong with your device.)

2. Enter your passcode, if prompted.

3. Tap Add a Fingerprint.

4. When prompted, place your finger on the Home button (without pressing it), lift your finger up, and repeat until scanning is complete.

5. iOS then prompts you to scan the edges of your finger. Follow the onscreen instructions.

6. Repeat for each finger you might want to use to unlock your device. You can scan up to five digits; I recommend scanning at least both thumbs and your primary index finger.

After setup, it’s a good idea to name each finger by tapping its listing in Settings > Touch ID & Passcode and entering a name into the text field.

To delete a Touch ID fingerprint, open Settings > Touch ID & Passcode, enter your passcode when prompted, tap a fingerprint, and tap Delete Fingerprint.

Set Up Face ID

Many models of iPhone and iPad Pro use facial recognition instead of Touch ID for quick authentication. You were likely prompted to set this up when you set up the phone, but here’s how to set it up or change it later:

1. Go to Settings > Face ID & Password.

2. Enter your passcode, if prompted.

3. Tap Set Up Face ID. If you don’t see that option, tap Reset Face ID and then tap Set Up Face ID.

4. Follow the on-screen prompts, which instruct you to rotate your head while keeping it in the onscreen circle.

Face ID adapts to changes in your appearance over time, but if you have a radically different alternative appearance or if you want another person to use Face ID with your device, tap Set Up an Alternate Appearance in Face ID & Passcode.

Here are a few tips for using Face ID:

• You need at least one eye open for Face ID to work unless you turn off Require Attention for Face ID in Settings > Face ID & Passcode.

• Face ID can also do things like reduce the volume of alarms if it sees that you’re looking at the screen. If you don’t like this, turn off Require Attention for Face ID in Settings > Face ID & Passcode.

• Face ID works fine in the dark, but struggles in direct sunlight.

• Face ID works fine with most glasses and sunglasses.

Set Up Find My iPhone

I strongly encourage you to enable Find My iPhone in Settings > Your Name > Find My > Find My iPhone.

Then, if you ever lose your device, you can erase it remotely (or possibly even find it) from iCloud.comor the Find My app on a different Apple device signed in to the same Apple ID or grouped with your lost device through Family Sharing (see Use Find My).

But the most important reason to enable Find My iPhone is that it also activates Activation Lock, which makes it extremely difficult for any thief to use or resell your device.

Understand Privacy Settings

Tap Settings > Privacy to access many options for securing your privacy. Let’s look at the high points:

• Disable ad tracking: If you do nothing else, you should tap Advertising (way at the bottom) and make certain that Limit Ad Tracking is on. If this switch is off, advertisers track information about you (anonymously) and use it to serve personalized ads within certain apps.

• Analytics: There are several switches here to share information with Apple and third-party developers. Apple and app developers use these to help improve their products, and your information is protected with differential privacy. So feel free to leave them on without threatening your privacy, but if you’re truly worried, turn them off.

• Bluetooth: Starting with iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, the operating system periodically alerts you to apps requesting Bluetooth access. Many developers use Bluetooth as a backdoor method of tracking your location, so I recommend not disallowing Bluetooth access unless an app truly needs it. Note that this does not affect the use of Bluetooth audio, since that’s handled at the system level.

• Microphone: It’s a good idea to check this setting every now and again to make sure no apps are listening in without your knowledge.

• Enable or disable location tracking: Tap Location Services to specify which apps can see your geographic location.

  You can turn Location Services off entirely, but that’s a bad idea—you won’t be able to use the Maps app, for example. You’re better off adjusting location services on a per-app basis, focusing on apps that don’t need your location. For instance, a weather alert app may need your location all the time, but Maps only needs to know while you’re using it. And a calculator app doesn’t need it at all!

• Per app: The Settings > Privacy screen has several options to limit access to app data from other apps. For example, tap Photos to see a list of apps that have access to your photo library.

Learn About Two-Factor Authentication

Mere passwords are no longer sufficient to guard your Apple account; you also need a second factor—an arbitrary code sent to a secondary device.

Improve Your Passwords

Passwords are your first, and often last, line of defense for your online accounts. iOS offers two tools for making them better:

• Generate secure passwords in Safari: When creating a new account on a website, when you tap the password field Safari automatically creates and stores a strong password. If you want to use that password, tap Use Strong Password. Otherwise tap Choose My Own Password.

  You can view these passwords, along with other saved passwords, in Settings > Passwords & Accounts > Website & App Passwords. Refer back to Autofill Passwords to see how you can use these in websites and apps.

• Check for duplicate passwords: While viewing your logins in Settings > Passwords & Accounts > Website & App Passwords, look for the caution icon, which indicates a duplicate password. You’ll want to change the passwords for any accounts that have that icon.