While people don’t like to think about the idea of getting involved in trouble, or emergencies, it’s always good to be prepared. Just as companies conduct training on fire escape plans in order to prevent problems, knowing all the safety and emergency features on your cell phone can also be helpful.
An example of this are the features that the iPhone, with its iOS system, have. In short, the smartphone can provide many features to help you in various situations. Like, for example, sending an SOS to an emergency contact, showing your medical information, among other details.
So, check below the 7 security and emergency features that are available on the iOS system.
7 iOS Security and Emergency Features
Below, check out 7 security features that iOS has that you need to know about:
1. Medical identification
If you are involved in an accident and become unconscious, or unable to respond to first responders, the medical team can check your personal health information through the medical identification feature available on the iPhone. That is, you can configure your allergies, medical conditions, blood types, and other important details.
To configure, you need to: Go to Settings > Health > Medical Record > To edit. In this step, edit all relevant health information, such as your medical conditions and allergies.
In this item, you can also add Emergency Contactsso they can receive your location when you use the feature Emergency SOS. Finally, activate Show when blocked in emergency access at the bottom of the page to allow access to your Medical ID even when the screen is locked.
2. Emergency SOS
Unlike the example we mentioned above, let’s say you’re conscious during a crisis and can use your iPhone to call for help. However, every second counts, so you might not have time to unlock your phone and dial an emergency hotline.
Fortunately, your iPhone has a handy feature that makes asking for help quick and easy. To use the emergency SOS feature on iPhone, press and hold the buttons Side (Energy) and Volume until the slider SOS CALL appears and slide it to the right to make the call. This will automatically call emergency services in your area and notify all Emergency Contacts that you configured.
Alternatively, you can quickly press the button Side five times to automatically start a countdown and call emergency services when it ends. You can enable this feature by going to Settings > Emergency SOS > Press 5 times to Power On.
So what happens when you’re out of cellular or Wi-Fi coverage? If you have an iPhone 14 or any iPhone 14 pro model, it will attempt to connect you via satellite to local emergency services. This process takes less time during favorable weather conditions and with a direct view of the sky.
3. Share your route
You can keep your family or friends informed about your routes by sharing your estimated time of arrival. This is a convenient security feature to make sure they know how your trip is progressing and when you will be arriving.
To share, open the app Maps and enter a destination. Then choose your shipping method and tap Go. Once this is done, select Share Arrival at the bottom of the screen on the route card. This will bring up some suggested contacts. You can also tap the option Contacts to choose someone else from your contact list.
If the chosen contact is an iPhone user, they will receive a Google Maps notification upon your arrival. They can open the notification to check their current location and track their journey. However, if the chosen contact is an Android user, he will receive an SMS with your route.
4. App Search
If your iPhone goes missing, it has an app that can help you locate and secure your Apple devices: the Search.
When logging into your account Apple ID, you will see a map with the location of your device. You can choose to play a sound on the device, so that you can easily find it if you are nearby.
5. Erase data after multiple attempts
It is very common for the smartphone to contain valuable personal data. So if some criminal gets his hands on your iPhone, and you can’t get it back, make sure he can’t access your data.
Apple has a security feature that, when activated, can erase your data after ten failed attempts. You can enable this feature by going to Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Data Erase (found at the bottom of the page).
6. Blocking mode
In an extreme situation, when you feel you might be the target of a sophisticated cyber attack, your iPhone has a lock mode that can reduce your vulnerability. However, it is worth noting that most users will never need to use this feature, as it is intended to protect phones from high-end and sophisticated threats.
So what does Lockdown Mode do? In short, it prevents anyone from accessing your personal data by limiting various features, websites and apps. For example, activate the Lock Mode will block some types of message attachments, such as links and link previews. Also, you won’t be able to receive FaceTime calls from people you haven’t called before.
To enable Lockdown Mode, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Lock Mode. While it’s unlikely you’ll need to use this feature, it’s worth knowing that it’s there.
7. Security check
For security reasons, if you want to revoke access to someone’s location or other information from an app or device you no longer trust, you can use the feature Security Check to completely or partially disconnect them from iPhone.
To enable Security Checkup, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Security Check. From here you can select emergency reset to immediately disconnect all access to your data from all devices or apps. Alternatively, you can select Manage sharing and access to customize which people and apps can access your data.
