Apple is testing an iPhone security feature designed to recognize snatch-and-grab theft and lock the device before the thief can exploit it.
There’s a name for snatching someone’s smartphone from their hands in a brazen theft attempt: Apple picking. And Apple’s been working on a way of protecting its customers from the act.
In May, it was learned that Apple had been working on a new set of security features that will automatically lock an iPhone when it detects that it’s been snatched from its owner’s hands. Now, the new iOS 27.2 Beta 2 gives us a better look at what that entails.
The feature, spotted by 9to5Mac, is called “AutoLock” internally, and it uses multiple signals to determine whether or not the device has been taken from its owner. This includes
- Sudden, sharp acceleration
- A paired Apple Watch remaining unreachable
- Loss of connection to a paired Apple Watch
- Prolonged loss of network connectivitgy
- The device remaining unlocked beyond a certain interval
Of course, any one of these could theoretically give a false positive, so Apple is also working on safeguards to prevent errant lockdowns. These could include biometric authentication, app activity, and a backoff mechanism that suppresses locks after lock events.
As 9to5Mac mentions, the feature is still in the works. Users on the iOS 27.2 beta 2 cannot access the feature for testing.
Instead, Apple has enabled the feature in the background and chosen to keep the actual locking component disabled. This may be Apple’s way of gathering data to further test the feature.
Apple has good reason to keep working on anti-theft features, too. In places like London, iPhones have become particularly attractive targets for thieves, with some criminals going so far as to reject Android devices in favor of Apple’s more lucrative hardware.
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