Protecting your phone: updates, app permissions and lost-phone plans

Keep it updated

• Install system updates promptly. They fix security problems that attackers actively look for. Turn on automatic updates in the settings.
• Update apps too, ideally automatically through the App Store or Google Play.
• Know your phone's support period. Every phone eventually stops receiving security updates. Check the manufacturer's stated support period when buying, and plan to replace a phone that no longer gets them.

Lock it properly

• Use a screen lock: a PIN of six digits or more, or a passcode, plus fingerprint or face unlock for convenience.
• Avoid simple patterns and obvious PINs such as birthdays or repeated digits.
• Set the screen to lock quickly, after a minute or two.
• Hide sensitive notification content on the lock screen, so one-time codes and private messages are not visible to anyone holding the phone.
• Add a SIM PIN if your network supports it, so a stolen SIM cannot be used in another phone to receive your codes.

Review app permissions

• Use 'only while using the app' for location where possible, and turn off precise location for apps that only need a rough idea of where you are.
• Share selected photos rather than your whole library when an app offers the choice.
• Check the permission manager in your settings every few months, and remove access from apps you rarely use.
• Delete apps you no longer use. Each one is something else to update.
• Install apps only from the official stores, and be wary of apps that ask for unusual access, such as accessibility controls, without a clear reason.

Protect your accounts

• Secure your Apple Account or Google Account with a strong password and two-step verification. It controls backups, purchases and the ability to find or erase the phone.
• Lock sensitive apps such as banking with their own PIN or biometrics.
• Back up regularly to the cloud or a computer, so losing the phone does not mean losing your photos.

Make a lost-phone plan before you need it

• Turn on Find My on iPhone, or Find Hub on Android. Both let you locate, lock or erase a lost phone from another device or a web browser.
• On iPhone, turn on Stolen Device Protection. It adds extra checks, such as requiring Face ID or Touch ID and a delay for some sensitive changes, when the phone is away from familiar places.
• On Android, look for the theft protection settings. Depending on your version, these include Theft Detection Lock, which can lock the screen if the phone is snatched, and Offline Device Lock, which locks a phone that has been disconnected from the network for a while.
• Know how to sign in to your account from another device without your phone. Keep backup codes or a second sign-in method somewhere safe at home.
• Write down your phone's IMEI number, found in the settings or on the box, so your network can block it.

If your phone is lost or stolen

1. Locate or lock it using Find My or Find Hub from another device.
2. Contact your mobile network to block the SIM and, if stolen, the handset.
3. Change the passwords for your main email and account, and for banking if it was accessible.
4. Tell your bank if banking apps or payment cards were on the phone.
5. Report a theft to the police and get a reference number for insurance.
6. Erase the phone remotely if you do not expect to get it back. Note that after erasing, you may no longer be able to locate it.

Public Wi-Fi and charging

• Prefer mobile data for banking on the move, or make sure sites use secure connections.
• Use your own charger and cable where you can.