SAFETY FIRST
Apple alerts iPhone owners over little-known ‘Emergency’ button that stops dangerous stalking tactic ‘immediately’
A special setting will even let you check to see if the 'Reset' worked
APPLE has revealed an important safety button that all iPhone owners should know about – it can save you from dangerous snooping.
It's part of Apple's Safety Check feature, which is designed to help you root out stalkers who may have access to parts of your .
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The button itself is called Emergency Reset, but it's important to know how Safety Check works first.
SAFETY CHECK ON IPHONE
Safety Check is designed to protect you from oversharing – or even being stalked – through iPhone features.
You can restrict a whole host of iPhone settings that relate to sharing content, location, and more.
"If your personal safety is at risk, you can use Safety Check on iPhone to quickly stop sharing your information, or to review and update sharing with individual people and apps," Apple explains.
The iPhone maker adds: "If circumstances or trust levels change, Safety Check allows you to disconnect from people, apps, and devices you no longer want to be connected to."
HOW TO USE SAFETY CHECK ON IPHONE
First you'll need to make sure you're running iOS 16 or later.
Just go to Settings > General > Software Update to check.
And you'll also need to be signed in to an Apple ID on your iPhone that has two-factor authentication enabled.
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Then you'll want to go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Safety Check to see what your options are.
You can then go through all of your privacy permissions relating to apps and content on your phone.
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It's also possible to remove devices signed in to your Apple ID account, change your password, and update emergency contacts.
You can stop Apple apps sharing content, including:
- Activity
- Check In
- Health
- Home
- Shared Calendars
- Shared items in Find My
- Shared location using Find My
- Shared Maps ETA
- Shared Notes
- Shared Passwords
- Shared Photos (Including Shared Library and Shared Albums)
And you can also prevent information from being shared, including:
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- Bluetooth
- Calendars
- Camera
- Contacts
- Files and Folders
- Health
- Local Network
- Location Services
- Media and Apple Music
- Microphone
- Motion & Fitness
- Photos
- Reminders
- Research
- Speech Recognition
There's also an option to update your device passcode, as well as your Face ID or Touch ID.
EMERGENCY RESET ON IPHONE
If you're really worried, there's a more nuclear option called Emergency Reset.
iPhone tricks to try today
Here are some of the best...
- Typing cursor – When typing, hold down the space bar to turn your keyboard into a trackpad, letting you move around words and sentences more easily
- Close all Safari tabs – To do this in one go, simply hold the overlapped squares in the bottom right-hand corner, and press close all tabs
- Delete lots of photos quickly – Hold down on a photo and then drag your finger diagonally in Photos to select lots of images at once, then hit delete
- Convert currency quickly – Swipe down from the top of your Home screen, then tap in the bar and type a currency (like €200) and it will automatically covert to your local currency
- Check if you’re due a battery upgrade – Batteries inside smartphones degrade over time. Just go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health, and check out the Maximum Capacity reading. Generally a battery is considered worn when you’re down to 80% capacity. If you’re below, you can buy a battery swap from Apple
- Move apps around faster – Hold an app until it starts wiggling, then (while still holding) tap other apps, causing them to stack so you can move them around easier
"Safety Check has an option called Emergency Reset," Apple explains.
"You use it to immediately stop sharing the items listed above, which includes all types of sharing. Emergency Reset also allows you to review and reset settings associated with your Apple ID."
To use Emergency Reset, you'll want to go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Safety Check.
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Then tap on Emergency Reset and follow the on-screen instructions.
Once you've finished, go to Verify That You've Stopped Sharing to make sure that it's all worked.
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