This 'secret' Apple feature helps protect your iPhone from thieves, here's how

Apple iPhone

Cupertino-based tech giant Apple has introduced a new privacy feature that seems to have irked US law enforcement officials. With this new feature, iPhones restart autonomously after a certain period of inactivity. Further, the iPhone gets fully encrypted, and other security features such as FaceID or TouchID are completely disabled, with the user requiring the passcode to unlock the phone.

According to a report published by 404 Media, Apple has added an ‘inactivity reboot’ function that reboots iPhones left unlocked for a specified duration. This reboot shifts the iPhone from an ‘After First Unlock’ (AFU) state to a ‘Before First Unlock (BFU) state, where it becomes slightly more difficult to digitally access the iPhones.

Though this feature was introduced to deter thieves from stealing personal and financial details from iPhones, it is now affecting law enforcement agencies as well. The report mentions that this change has been a point of frustration among cops, who say it makes iPhones stored for forensic exploration harder to unlock.

Forensic specialist Christopher Vance, who works for Magnet Forensics, was one of the first officials who spotted this feature and revealed that the timer triggers a device reboot after a preset time of more than four days. This makes it really difficult for even forensic officials to access the phone’s contents.

The latest iOS 18.1 update also brings an anti-theft feature named ‘Activation Lock,’  which will make critical components such as the battery, camera, and display inaccessible from thieves.