Updated as of iOS 18.1

Author: Allister D

Given the trend of iPhone users being targeted by mobile spyware and various other security threats, it's crucial for us to adopt a proactive approach towards securing our devices. To address this, I've compiled a guide aimed at strengthening your phones security. While it's impossible to guarantee 100% protection, following these steps can significantly reduce your attack surface to digital threats.

To simplify this process I’ve divided this guide into 3 levels: Basic, Intermediate and Advanced.

Basic: You should at the very minimum, enable all of these settings.

Intermediate: Requires a bit of setup to enable all these settings and may cause minor inconveniences. (Recommended)

Advanced: Enabling these settings will give you the best chance at withstanding sophisticated attacks but will cause major inconveniences. Certain features will be prevented from working as well. Most people will not need to go this far.

Basic

Settings > Apple Account > Sign-In & Security

1. Ensure Two-Factor Authentication is turned on. (Security Key method preferred)
2. Account Recovery: Consider setting up a recovery key or assigning a trusted recovery contact.

Settings > Apple Account

1. Find My: Consider enabling Find My if you want to be able to geo-locate or remotely wipe your iPhone in case of loss or theft.

Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates

1. Enable “iOS Updates”.
2. Enable “Security Responses & System Files”.
3. Enable “iOS Updates” under automatically download.

Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto Lock

1. Ensure Auto-Lock is set to 5 minutes or less to prevent your device from remaining in an unlocked state if left unattended.