How to enable iOS Lock Mode

Learning how to enable iOS lock mode is vital if you want to protect your iPhone from hackers. Lockdown mode, introduced with iOS 16, is designed to provide maximum protection for users who may be at risk of advanced cyber attacks.

According to Apple, this feature is primarily designed for people who are extraordinarily vulnerable to hacking and malware attacks because of their public profile or sensitive information they come in contact with — politicians and journalists, for example.

This does not mean that putting the lock on is not worth it for others. Recently, we’ve seen Google reporting Predator spyware attacks on Android devices, identification of malware apps on the Play Store, and Meta reports of over 400 malicious apps being found on both the iOS and Android app stores. In short, cyber security is now more important than ever, so it’s good for iPhone users to have more options to protect themselves. It seems that manufacturers are starting to realize that competing with the best phones on the market requires taking cyber threats seriously.

Apple says the Lock mode is designed to “reduce the attack surface that can be exploited by highly targeted mercenary spyware.” Essentially, this means restricting certain functions that can be used as backdoors, limiting the number of attack methods a hacker has.

According to Apple, Lockdown mode affects the following features:

Correspondence – “Most types of message attachments will be blocked, except for some images, videos, and audio. Some features, such as links and link previews, will not be available.”

browse – “Some complex web technologies will be blocked, which may result in some websites loading slow or not working properly. In addition, web fonts may not be displayed, and images may be replaced with a missing image icon.”

video calls – Incoming FaceTime calls will be blocked unless you have previously called this person or contact.

Service calls – Invitations to Apple services, such as invitations to manage a home in the Home app, will be blocked unless you’ve previously invited that person.

iOS Photos – Shared albums will be removed from the Photos app, and new shared album invites will be blocked.

Connections and accessories – To connect your device to a USB accessory or other computer, the device must be unlocked.

Device Configurations (eg iOS betas) – “Configuration profiles cannot be installed, and the device cannot be registered to mobile device management or device supervision while locked.”

Needless to say, turning on iOS Lock Mode results in some pretty broad limitations. However, if you work at a job that requires handling sensitive data, or if you use the internet without one of the best VPNs on a public network, you may want to enable it. Here’s how.