Blocking and Muting: iPhone and iPad: 3 Tips for More Security

Keeping your iPhone or iPad secure is crucial in today's digital age. Here are three tips to enhance your device's security and protect your personal data from prying eyes and unwanted calls.

Firstly, securing the control center is essential. By default, anyone can access the control center and execute preset shortcut commands. For instance, a phone thief could activate the Airplane mode, making location tracking via the "Where is?" app challenging. To prevent this, navigate to Settings > FaceID & Code. Scroll down to the "Allow access when Locked" section and disable the Control Center.

Now, only Face ID or Touch ID can unlock the device. Additionally, you can lock individual apps by tapping on their icon and selecting "Face ID required" or "Touch ID required." If the device lacks Face ID, such as iPhone SE and some iPads, "Touch ID required" will be the option.

Secondly, safeguarding your apps is paramount. Accidental access to sensitive information, such as banking apps or personal photos, can be prevented by protecting specific apps. To do this, long-press the app icon, select "Face ID required" or "Touch ID required," and confirm the decision. If Face ID isn't available, the app will require a passcode instead. If you ever need to revert this change, select "Face ID not required" within the app settings.

Lastly, dealing with spam calls can be a hassle. iOS provides an option to forward unknown callers to voicemail, which keeps your phone silent. To do this, go to Settings > Phone > Unknown Callers. The three options available are "Don't Answer," "Ask for Reason," or "Silence." The first option does nothing, the second option lets the caller speak to a pre-recorded voice, and the third option sends all unknown numbers to voicemail without alerting the caller.

If you prefer the latter, unknown callers will be directed to voicemail without any notification in their call list, making it a discreet and convenient solution.