How to secure your phone from hackers?

Few best tips to keep your iPhone or Android phone safe and secure.

Having a mobile phone always comes with its pros and cons but aren’t we already aware of this? Pretty much, yes! Regardless of this era marking history in the world of technology, owning and keeping your phone secure and safe isn’t an easy task. The paranoia of your Android or iPhone being hacked is always there at the back of your head.

Your concern is valid. It’s okay to be worried about securing your phone and devices as they help you make calls and keep track of your financial information, contact list, pictures, and videos. With the stress of phone hacking being restricted to celebrities traditionally, this isn’t the case anymore. 

Today everyone, be it a CEO of a company or a student, is worried about securing their phones from unwanted hackers and attackers. It may have been an issue for you too, but not anymore! We’ve got you sorted. 

This article aims to give you a deep insight into how you can secure your phone from hacks easily and efficiently. Understanding how today we have both Android & iOS users, we’ll be shedding light on how to secure your phone for each.

How to secure iPhone

Here are a few easy tips and tricks to secure your iPhone.

Tip 1: Keep iOS up to date

The first tip to ensure your iPhone is secure from hackers is by using the latest iOS version on your device. Whenever an iOS update arrives, it includes bugs fixed by Apple developers identified by good hackers. Updates ensure that your iPhone is secure from hackers who are always looking for these loopholes to access your data. 

To update the latest version of iOS, Open the Settings and tap General > Software Update. If you are already running the latest version, it will show text informing you that it is already updated. Otherwise, you can advance to download and install the latest one. The most recent version of iOS is 14.6.

Tip 2: Always keep Find My iPhone turned-on

Find My iPhone, now known as Find My app, turned-on can easily find the location of your lost iPhone or iPad from your other iCloud logged-in devices. This tracking feature not only helps you trace your phone but it enables you to remotely erase all the data stored on the lost device remotely so that none of your data is accessed by the bad guys.

Tip 3: Secure Passwords, Secure Data

The simplest way you could secure your data on your device is by having strong passcode. Specifically for an iPhone, it’s best to have a 6-digit passcode along with Face ID.

It is also recommended and considered a good practice to use iCloud Keychain to create unique passwords that aren’t easy to guess while browsing on the internet using Safari or Chrome. Such practices could help you stand firm against social engineering attacks.

Tip 4: Activate Auto Erase on 10 attempts

You can activate auto-erase if several wrong passcode attempts are made on your iPhone. This is an extreme measure, so be cautious. To activate this feature, open the Settings, tap Face ID (or Touch ID) & Passcode. Now scroll down and toggle on the Erase Data feature.

When you activate this feature, only ten attempts allow you to enter the password, and if you fail to type the correct one, your data on the iPhone will be erased. 

It is recommended that you activate iCloud backup as well. Because you can restore it through iCloud only if you backed up your iPhone data there. This data protection feature to keep your iPhone secure and safe is best to use when you have very confidential data on your device.

Tip 5: Never JailBreak your iPhone

Let your iPhone be & enjoy it as was manufactured by the company. A typical example of jailbreaking your phone is to have unauthorized software installed using a computer. Jailbreaking may allow users to access some cracked on unapproved applications not available on the App Store. In the long run, it exposes your phone to many security issues, including malware, viruses, and unauthorized remote access.

Tip 6: Lock an App on iOS

You can secure your iPhone further by locking specific apps or all of them by using screen time. Following are the steps if you want to lock a particular app:

  • Open the Settings app
  • Select Screen Time 
  • Select Use Screen Time Passcode
  • Enable it and set a passcode for it
  • Tap on devices that are in the upper right corner and select your device
  • Choose an App or all Apps that you want to lock
  • Select Add Limit
  • Now choose Edit Apps. From here, you will be prompted to select applications you want to lock from a dropdown menu.

After selecting the apps, you want to lock, use the timer interface to choose the time period, and then tap Add.

If you want to open any locked app, you must enter a Screen Time passcode. You can unlock your apps for 15 mins, an hour, and a day. Once you can do it, you can’t undo it.

There is some limitation of the Screen Times: you cannot lock any default apps like Facetime, Messages, Contacts, Maps, etc. When you lock your apps, especially your social apps, you won’t be getting any notifications from those particular applications. 


How to secure Android phone

Here are 5 easy tips and tricks to keep your Android phone safe.

Tip 1: Make use of Android in-built security

If you have an Android phone running on Android 10, you can easily set up screen lock & encryption methods to prevent any hacking attempt. These work together to tighten your phone’s security. Choose from a choice of password options; pin, pattern, and face lock & go for the one that suits you the best.

Tip 2: Understand App Permissions

Whenever you start using a new application after installing it from the Google Play store, you see a list of requested permissions. Be extra careful about granting these authorizations since not all of them are necessary. For example, an alarm clock app doesn’t need permission to access your text messages. This responsibility lies on the user regarding what permissions they would like to give. 

To review and manually change current App permissions, Open the Settings and find and select an app to change the permission.

Tip 3: Don’t Download Apps from a Third party

It is recommended that you download the apps directly from the Google Play store only. Google, like Apple, lately started to review each app before uploaded on the Play store. Google has been bulk removing apps that violate the rules and policies of the Play store as well. 

READ: Selling your Android phone? Here is how to do it safely

Therefore, do not download the apps or APK or AAB files from a browser, email, or another source. If you download or trust a third party, then the chances are that your data is not private anymore.     

Tip 4: Use a Secure Network

We can’t stress enough that it is not essential to connect to every other public Wi-Fi. You should always avoid it when you can and keep your network secured. When using a shared network, other people using the same network might use essential hacking tools to access your private data like passwords, credit cards or photos. 

Tip 5: Lock Your Apps

Sometimes it is necessary to lock your apps. Especially those apps which have your private data. It is basically a second layer to secure your data. The first one is your screen lock or password.

You can download Applock by DoMobile Lab, Applock-Fingerprint & Password, Gallery Locker and AppLock by Lite Tools Studio from the Google Play store and lock the specific app which holds your private data. 

Multi-Factor Authentication for iPhone and Android

Try to use two-factor or multi-factor authentication as well, where possible. Such services send a one-time password or OTP to your email or SMS to double confirm your identity.

Besides, you can keep your data more secure by downloading the authenticator app, like Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator, from Google Play Store or iOS App Store. When you back up your data on services like Amazon or Dropbox, you can access it by just entering your password. However, with this app then you can’t access your data with just a password. Instead, you have to give an authentication code that is regularly changed after 30 seconds in your app to access your data. You can apply this authentication to any of your accounts to make them more secure. Make sure to know the apps or services that support the Authenticator app before using it. 

In a nutshell, the techniques mentioned above can be very beneficial in protecting your phone from getting hacked. Whether you are an iPhone user or an android one, we’ve got you covered. The best way to avoid intruders from accessing or hacking your data is always to keep your device up-to-date, password-protected, and multi-factor authentication enabled. 

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