Have you gotten to work and realized you left your iPhone at home? It’s actually a very vulnerable feeling.

Imagine you’d lost your iPhone or someone had stolen it. Now, your phone is vulnerable, and so are you.

Most of us keep valuable information on our iPhones from credit card numbers to passwords and our personal contacts. That’s why keeping it secure is so important.

Let’s look at seven tips for smartphone security.

#1: Ditch the Four-Digit Password

Some of you may not like the idea of having to enter two more digits for a passcode, but it is worth it.

With the inception of iOS 9, Apple now allows users to choose between a four-digit or a six-digit password.

For the utmost security, it’s a good idea to choose the six-digit option. Why?

Well, with the four-digit option, there are just 10,000 possible combinations while, the six-digit passcodes have one million possible combinations.

Imagine how much hard it is for a hacker to break into your phone if you use the six-digit passcode.

When setting your six-digit passcode, use an alphanumeric complex phrase for the utmost security.

To set or reset your passcode go to Settings>Touch ID and Passcode>Change Passcode>Six-Digit Numeric Code.

#2: Set Erase Data

In the same Touch ID & Passcode menu, you’ll see an option to toggle Erase Data on or off.

If you turn it on, your phone automatically erases everything stored on it after 10 failed passcode attempts.

This is a super way to keep thieves and hackers from gaining access to your personal, private data.

If you use this feature, we suggest you set your phone to use automatic iCloud backup so if your data is wiped accidentally, you can access it again in the Cloud.

#3: Use Find My iPhone

This is a great feature for smartphone security.

The Find My iPhone feature enables you to track your smartphone if it’s lost or stolen. You can locate it on a map and make it play music so you can hear it when you find its location.

Using this feature also allows you to remotely lock your iPhone and erase all of its data if you are unable to recover the phone.

To set it, go to Settings>iCloud>Find My iPhone and toggle the switch to on.

#4: Set the Lock Feature

Noisy co-workers or interested roommates? Make your phone lock sooner so that it is more secure.

If you leave your phone around, or someone finds it before the passcode is set to turn on, people might be able to access your iPhone.

Go to Settings>Touch ID & Passcode and set it to immediately lock as the most secure option.

If you don’t want to type in your passcode every few minutes, you can set a shorter time requirement.

This is also something you can change depending on your location and if you know there are prying eyes or thieves in the vicinity.

#5: Toggle Location Settings

Just because an app wants access to your location doesn’t mean it should have it.

Your location is and should be private unless you are using something like a maps app. Plus, leaving location settings on drains your iPhone’s battery very quickly.

Go to Settings>Privacy>Location and turn off any app that you don’t use regularly. Remember – you can always turn it back on again when you need it.

#6: Use a Password Manager

We live in a society of convenience, and we want everything at our fingertips. Yet, passwords are something we’d do better by making them a bit less convenient to access.

By using a password manager, you can store your unique passwords and keep them safe. The password manager then lets you access them with a single master password or fingerprint through Touch ID.

The iCloud Keychain is built into your phone, and you can find other password managers in the App store.

#7: Turn Siri Off

You may enjoy using Siri, and she certainly helps when you need to use your iPhone hands-free, but you can bet she is just as helpful to thieves and hackers.

While Siri may ask for some verification before allowing access to your contacts, photos and sensitive data, there have been times when crafty people have found work-arounds to bypass an iPhone’s passcode.

To disable Siri, go to Settings>Touch ID & Passcode and turn “allow access when locked” to off.

To Conclude

We can all agree that smartphones have made life easier, and most of us couldn’t live without them.

Yet, the easier they are for us to use, the easier they are for thieves and hackers to gain entry.

Make sure your iPhone is as secure as possible by using these seven tips for smartphone security to enhance your safety.

Now that you’ve gotten the inside scoop on how to keep your iPhone safe, it’s time to protect it physically. As always, we want to help you have a protected, useful iPhone.

Check out our beautiful, tough iPhone 6s and 6s Plus cases. Choose between the Lite version - slim, feather-weight, flexible and fully protective, or the Strong version - shock absorbent TPU on the inside fused with a tough polycarbonate exterior and a lightly rubberized finish.

Visit our website to see these superb cases in action!