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  • Locking Your iPhone: How to Do It
Technology Articles > Software > Security & Privacy > Locking Your iPhone: How to Do It

The world is full of morally driven honest people who will return your iPhone to you should you lose it – wait, that’s not at all right. Unless you live in a small town where everyone is related (and even then, honesty is questionable), the chances of someone returning your lost iPhone to you are slim to none. Instead, if you lose your iPhone you can bet that the person who finds it will be looking through your phone to see what kinds of details about you can be discovered.

But, you can rest assured that there’s a very good way to prevent anyone from seeing anything that’s privately stored on your iPhone. How? You can lock your phone with a secure password, so that nobody (not even your mother, sister, brother, wife, husband, or boss) can tap into it. With the standard iPhone password locker, you say? Well, the standard iPhone password lock is a start, but you can go one step even further.

Making Sure that Password is Secure

Apple has equipped all iPhones with a nifty user option called the Passcode Lock. This option can be found under the “Settings” app and inside of the “General Category.” Clicking on Password Lock will bring you to a lock screen where you can enter your preferred password details. Now, Apple allows you to enter a standard four-digit password, which is better than no password at all. However, as most people who are password paranoid know, a four-digit password is the most common type and it’s also the type that thieves prefer the most. Instead of opting for that four-digit password, consider making your password even longer. How?

Go back to that Settings app, choose the General option, and look for the Passcode Lock feature. Then, and here’s the important part, look for the “Simple Passcode” feature and turn it off. Now, you will be able to enter an alphanumeric passcode or a numeric passcode that’s longer than four-digits. Technically, an alphanumeric passcode is a stronger passcode than any other option, but messing around with the iPhone alphanumeric keyboard is a real pain and this becomes a bigger hassle when you have to enter that combo every five minutes or so. Instead, stick with numbers – just make sure yours is longer than four digits.

What About Contacting Me?

If you’re worried that your phone might, just might, be picked up by an honest person who actually wants to return it to you (without looking at your info), and you don’t want to lock your screen for fear that you’ll never be found, you don’t have to worry about this too much. If you are really worried about never being found, you can simply create a lock screen that contains your name, phone number, and address.

Honestly though, it’s better to have a locked password protected screen than it is to worry about the highly unlikely possibility that someone won’t be able to locate you should you lose your phone. Keep in mind that most people won’t return a lost iPhone – and those who do will go through all of your apps and email first. In short, be safe and secure by locking your iPhone with a five-digit (or longer) password.