Turns out that our locked phones aren’t as safe as we thought — here’s how we can fix that
Creating a passcode for your phone is the safest way to prevent strangers from accessing your information should you ever lose your phone. Or at least, we thought it was. As it turns out, it’s possible for anyone to access your personal information from your locked phone. Yeah, it’s a pretty scary thought that could easily turn into your reality.
The iPhone offers two ways to set up your security. You can choose a four or six digit passcode, and/or you can use your fingerprints to make sure that you’re the only person accessing your phone. But according to one woman who happened to find someone else’s phone, passcodes don’t stop a stranger from finding out all kinds of personal information.
Twitter user uninterested hō explained what happened in a series of tweets, and TBH, it’s pretty scary.
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/833784254848970756
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/833779390492372992
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/833779755518423040
She’s clearly a good human and gave the girl her phone back, but she realized something pretty scary in the process. Even when the phone was locked, she had access to the notifications and was able to ask Siri questions. She found the girl’s first and last name, where she lives, and even where her car was parked. Yikes!
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/833780462967455749
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/833781270832373765
It’s unnerving to know that literally anyone could have access to that much personal information. Though, the good news is that there’s a way to change your settings so all of that info isn’t accessible without your passcode or fingerprint.
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/833783023644639232
We’re thankful to uninterested hō (whose real name we obviously don’t know) for bringing this to our attention. It only takes a few seconds to do, and it could prevent a major security issue for you down the road if you ever lose your phone (let’s be real — it’s happened to the best of us).