Millions of iPhone owners urged to check for ‘self-destruct’ switch right now – don’t leave it too late
YOUR iPhone has an extremely powerful “self-destruct” switch that you shouldn’t ignore.
It can save you from a smartphone nightmare – but you’ll need to turn it on first.
Hidden away in your iPhone settings is a special feature that wipes your handset automatically.
This “self-destruct” trick is designed to stop people from endlessly trying passcodes to break into your iPhone.
After 10 wrong guesses, your iPhone data will be completely wiped.
It’s a handy way to protect your texts, photos and data, especially if your iPhone has been lost or stolen.
The setting is called Erase Data and it only takes a few seconds to switch on.
To turn it on, go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode.
You’ll need to enter your passcode to get into these settings.
Once that’s done, scroll down to the bottom of the page and look for Erase Data.
Tap on the Erase Data toggle and you’ll be prompted to Enable the change.
If it’s worked, the toggle will turn green.
Be cautious before turning it on, however.
It’s potentially risky if you live with a prankster or small children – or you plan to get very drunk.
All someone would need to do to wipe your iPhone would be to enter your passcode wrong over and over again.
This could be done on purpose by someone else, or by accident (by a young child).
So if you’re set on using Erase iPhone, make sure you keep your data backed up.
That way, it’s easy to restore your iPhone to its old self if it’s accidentally scrubbed clean.
Once you’re backed up, you’ll feel much safer relying on this handy iPhone hack.