to keep their data safe

by Tom Morgan

It’s important to keep your personal data hidden from prying eyes – here is how you can help secure a device in minutes

1. Check for security updates

Make sure your phone is running the latest security update. This protects you against vulnerabilities in the operating system (OS) that hackers could take advantage of to steal your data (including passwords).

To check if your smartphone is up to date, follow these steps:

  • On iPhone – Open Settings and choose General. Tap About to see your iOS version. You can also choose Software update to check for updates.
  • On Android – Open the Settings app and look for an option that says About phone or similar. Tap it and look for Android version. From the main Settings screen, you can also find an Update option. On a Google Pixel, for example, the steps would be Settings > System > Software updates.

2. Set up Face Unlock / Fingerprint Unlock

You can set up a new smartphone without implementing any security measures to unlock it. That’s a very risky decision, though, as anybody with access to your phone could load up apps, make calls and transfer files to other devices.

If your phone doesn’t have any additional unlock protection, get it added right away. Here’s how to do it:

  • On iPhone – To use Face ID (available on iPhone models without a Home button), you must set a password – so let’s start there. Go to Settings, then Face ID & Passcode or Touch ID & Passcode.
  • On Android – Go to Settings > Security and privacy > Device unlock. Tap Screen lock, Fingerprint or Face.

3. Choose how long it takes for your phone to lock

By default, your phone display will eventually turn off when you stop using the device.

If you want to reduce the time it takes for this to happen, you can make adjustments in your settings menu. Just follow these steps:

  • On iPhone – Head to Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock. Choose a length of time.
  • On Android – Choose Settings > Display > Screen timeout.

4. Enable the ‘Find my’ service

Both iOS and Android come with free ‘Find my’ services pre-installed – when enabled, you can virtually locate and control your phone to stop data from falling into the wrong hands. Setting it up now will give you some peace of mind moving forward.

To set up ‘Find my’ on your mobile, follow these steps:

  • On iPhone – Go to Settings > [your name] > Find My > Find My iPhone. Activate Find My iPhone to locate, lock or erase the gadget remotely. To use Find My iPhone from your computer, head to icloud.com/find.
  • On Android – Navigate to Settings > Security and privacy > Device finders or Google > Security. You can also try typing ‘Find my’ in the Settings search bar. Select Find My Device and activate it. Go to Settings > Location and enable it. You can use this service from android.com/find.

5. Manage your notifications (and keep some private)

iPhone and Android mobiles will let you stop text from appearing within a lockscreen notification. You’ll still know that you’ve received a text, but you won’t be able to read the contents until you unlock your phone. In other words, people looking over at your screen won’t be able to read incoming messages.

Before you enable this feature, think of the pros and cons. It’s a plus in terms of security, but you won’t be able to see certain information at a glance.

To adjust notification settings for your default messaging app, follow these steps:

  • On iPhone – Go to Settings > Notifications > Messages. Select Show Previews and pick between Always, When Unlocked, or Never.
  • On Android – Open your Settings page, then select Display and touch > Lock screen > Notifications on lock screen.