How to Encrypt Your iPhone (iOS) In 4 Essential Steps

The significance of phones security and privacy has increased with the passage of time. The methods of privacy have been named as “Encryption“. It is the way towards changing data to make it indiscernible by anybody, with the exception of those having unique learning (generally alluded to as a “key”). This enables them to change the data back to its unique, comprehensible shape.

It has gained a lot of significance these days. We see encryption news popping up in our social media feeds every now and then. Recently, Apple’s iPhone encryption was charged with being involved in surveillance programs with the US government. Although the issue was over it has left people thinking that how much necessary data security is?

Encrypting your iPhone is critical on the grounds that it enables you to safely secure information that you don’t want any other individual to approach. For a multi-national company like Apple, it became necessary to provide iPhone encryption to their users. Organizations utilize it to ensure corporate confidentiality; governments use it to secure grouped data, and numerous people access it to secure individual data to make preparations for things like fraud.

Importance of iPhone encryption cannot be overlooked. The quantity of private data stored on an iPhone is amazing which includes e-mails, credit card transactions and banking information. This reason is enough to state that encryption for iPhone is vital. Thus, making your iPhone’s security is necessary for this digital era.

This guide will help you know how to encrypt your iPhone which makes your data secure.

How to Encrypt Your iPhone?

IPhone 3GS, iPod touch 3rd generation or others devices have the high-level encryption option which you can use to protect your data. It safeguard’s your phone’s browser history, iMessage, Photos, video, document, and apps. This means that no one can read or access your data without decrypting your iPhone. To decrypt this encryption they much know your Passcode.

In the world of technology where innovation is the key, we carry our personal data in phones and devices including photos, emails, chats, and bank details. But we still set up a passcode on phone to defend our privacy. Actually, that is not enough because data snoopers and surveillance agencies are spying the phones. To prevent unauthorized surveillance you need to encrypt your iPhone which enhances your privacy.

FBI can easily evade the “Screen Lock” security during the investigation. If your iPhone is encrypted, then you have a valuable chance to safeguard your data. If you have a lock screen passcode, is it not enough?

The basic functionality of encryption is to safeguard the information which is stored on your phone or device. When you encrypt your iPhone the data inside of your device becomes safe with a high-level encryption including the transactions using the internet connection to another device.

Luckily, there are some few methods like how to encrypt iPhone with which you can secure your data and keep your iPhone protected even though it falls into mischievous hands. These methods befall under the category of iPhone encryption or privacy.

What Is Passphrase?

A passphrase is also a kind of password that uses the long phrase instead of a single word to protect your phone.

You can simply encrypt your iPhone by following the steps:

  • Go to Settings.
  • Tab to Touch ID or Passcode.
  • Turn on Passcode option.
  • Set six-digit (Strong Passcode).

encrypt your iphone

You can choose passcode option to create a strong password. When you click on the “password option” button it will pop up three choices.

  • Custom Alphanumeric Code
  • Custom Numeric Code
  • 4-Digit Numeric Code

The first option which is “Custom Alphanumeric Code” it increases your device security. According to Apple Company, the six-digit alphanumeric passcode with numbers and lower case letters would take at least five years to break if every arrangement of numbers is tried.

Once you successfully did with the passcode, you can return to the Settings menu. Now just scroll down to the page end till you see “Data protection is enabled.” That means you have an encrypted iPhone and nobody can access the data on your iPhone.

iphone enabled data protection

That’s it! Wasn’t that simple?

The only stuff encrypted by this uncomplicated method are your iMessages, attachment, data and mail messages from a few apps that boast data encryption. That’s all. You have encrypted your iOS device.

Features to Enhancing your iOS Privacy

ITunes provides you an opportunity to backup your device on your PC. If you select “Encrypt backup” option then all your iTunes will be backup in a more confidential way and encrypt all files before storing them on your PC. Make sure that the password you use is safe though backing up is a rare event but it can be a headache if you forget to remember the password while unlocking backup in rush.

If you are performing a backup on Apple’s iCloud use a long passphrase for protecting your data and keep the passphrase remember in your mind or save it. IPhone encrypts most of the backup data, it is impossible that the data can be obtained by law enforcement agencies. Apple also manages the keys used for encryption of iCloud.

If you enabled the “data protection” all your data will be deleted rapidly from your iPhone.

  • Go to Touch ID & Passcode settings.
  • Enable “Ease Data” option.

After 10 fails of passcodes, all your data will be wiped out from your iPhone.

According to Apple’s previous Law Enforcement Guide, “Apple can extract certain categories of active data from passcode locked iOS devices. Specifically, the user-generated active files in the iOS device that are contained in Apple’s native apps and for which the data is not encrypted using the passcode (“user generated active files”), can be shared with law enforcement. Apple can perform this data extraction process on iOS devices running iOS 4 and other recent versions of iOS.

Please note the only categories of user-generated active files that can be provided to law enforcement, pursuant to a valid search warrant, are: SMS, photos, videos, contacts, audio recording, and call history. Apple cannot provide email, calendar entries, or any third-party App data.”

The information provided above only applies to the running versions of iOS prior to 8.0.

Apple also states that “Devices running iOS 8 and later versions, your personal data is placed under the protection of your passcode. Apple will not perform iOS data extractions in response to government search warrants because the files are protected by an encryption key that is tied to the user’s passcode, which Apple does not possess.”

The only reliable method is to encrypt iPhone otherwise hackers may obtain all the data from your phone’s memory when it is powered on. Remember! Try to keep your device powered off if you have a doubt that your data might get stolen.

How to Encrypt your iTunes

IPhone encryption keeps information from being gotten to while it’s on the device. When you go down documents on your PC through iTunes, be that as it may, they are put away in a crude arrangement, making them a potential focus for information misfortune. Luckily it’s anything but difficult to design iTunes to scramble all reinforcement information put away on your PC.

  • With iTunes introduced, connect your iPhone to your PC.
  • Tab the iPhone’s name in the Devices area of iTunes.
  • Then tab the “Summary”.
  • Tab the case beside “Encrypt iPhone Backups”, at that point apply the progressions.

It’s significant that in the event that you encrypt information through iTunes, you’ll just have the capacity to get to that data from the PC that made the encryption. Some other PC, even with iTunes introduced and synchronized to your iPhone, won’t have the capacity to get the reinforcements.

Conclusion

The significance of security and encrypted iOS devices has been popular on the news and social media feeds in recent times. Apple’s conflict with the U.S government has brought attention towards the iPhone encryption and privacy. Time will fade but this news has raised the importance of iPhone security and encrypted iPhones.

We told you about how you can enable iPhone encryption by following some easy steps. We also recommended you some more features that you can look up to enhance your privacy.

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