iPhone users just discovered an ‘extreme’ security setting hidden in Apple’s iOS.
It’s called ‘Lockdown Mode’ and ‘helps protect devices against extremely rare and highly sophisticated cyber-attacks’, according to the tech giant’s website.
Apple says the feature is “designed for a small number of individuals,” as most people are never targeted by such attacks.
However, users who feel like they have been victims of such an event can activate Lockdown Mode if their iPhone is running iOS 16 or later.
Users go to Settings and scroll down to Privacy & Security where Lockdown Mode is located.
Enable the setting, restart your device and then enter your passcode.
Apple has warned that using Lockdown Mode will cause some apps and features, including Messages, Web Browsing and FaceTime, to function differently.
“To reduce the attack surface that can potentially be exploited by highly targeted for-hire spyware, certain apps, websites, and features are strictly limited for security reasons and some experiences may not be available at all,” the website said.
Lockdown Mode is an optional setting that helps protect iOS devices from extremely rare and highly advanced cyber attacks
When activating Lockdown mode, users will see a warning message about the reduced functionality,
For example, most types of message attachments are blocked, with the exception of certain images, video, and audio. Other post features, such as links and link previews, are not available.
You won’t be able to receive FaceTime calls from people you haven’t called before, but phone calls and regular text messages will still work.
Emergency functions, such as SOS emergency calls, also remain unaffected.
When you share or send photos, the location information from them is removed.
Shared albums will be removed from the Photos app and all new invitations to shared albums will be blocked.
When it comes to web browsing, you may notice that some websites load slower or do not function properly.
Web fonts may not display and some images may be replaced with a “missing image” icon.
To enable this feature, open the Settings app and scroll down to Privacy & Security. Then scroll all the way down to enter Lockdown Mode. This will be the last tab on the screen
Once you tap ‘Enable Lockdown Mode’ you will see a screen with all the changes this will bring to your user experience.
After reviewing this information, scroll all the way to the bottom and tap ‘Enable Lockdown Mode’
And that’s not all. Lockdown mode also affects Apple services, device connections, wireless connectivity, and configuration profiles.
Additional features that will be disappearing include SharePlay, FaceTime Live Photos, and FaceTime Continuity Handoff.
Once you’ve reviewed all this information, scroll down and tap “Enable Lockdown Mode.”
You will then see a pop-up giving you the option to ‘Turn on and restart’ or ‘Cancel’. Tap the first option to continue.
Once your iPhone has restarted, this enhanced security feature will be enabled and you will notice significant changes in your device’s functionality.
But anyone with iOS 16 or later can access and enable Lockdown Mode from the Settings app
But there are ways to exclude certain apps and websites from Lockdown Mode’s restrictions.
To exclude an app, open the Settings app, tap “Privacy & Security,” tap “Lock Mode,” then tap “Configure Web Browsing.”
Find the app you want to exclude and disable it using the toggle button. Only apps that you have opened since you enabled Lockdown Mode and that have limited functionality will appear in this list.
To lock out a website, tap the ‘Page Menu’ button (a box with two lines below it), then tap the ‘More’ button (three dots) to open the Page Menu, then toggle lock mode for that website out.
You can view and edit all your excluded websites. Open Settings, tap Excluded Safari Websites, then tap Edit.