Stolen Device Protection is a key element for iPhones, launching in early 2024. Until now, it\u2019s been an opt-in feature, designed to help ensure that if your iPhone is stolen while it\u2019s unlocked, that the thief can\u2019t immediately replace your biometrics, for Face ID or Touch ID, with their own and then access banking apps, for instance.<\/p>\n The change means that immediately after the update, your iPhone will require Face ID or Touch ID to access sensitive data like saved passwords or credit card info. There\u2019s no option to type in a passcode if the biometric scan fails at first.<\/p>\n This is a major change, and it\u2019s one that many people, including myself, have wanted for a long time. I\u2019ve been asking all my friends to check they have the protection turned on. I won\u2019t have to do that any more.<\/p>\n For years, the passcode has been the ultimate fallback for iPhone users. If Face ID didn’t work, say because you were wearing a mask, you could simply enter your code.<\/p>\n Now, when you are away from what Apple designates as familiar locations (like home or work), the passcode option is removed for high-security actions. This prevents a thief who has seen your passcode from taking over your digital life, but it may catch legitimate users off-guard the first time they try to check a password at a coffee shop, say.<\/p>\n iOS 26.4 Release Date<\/p>\n Things could change but since the Release Candidate arrived on Wednesday, March18, the general release will almost certainly be by Wednesday, March 25. My best guess is that it\u2019s coming on Monday, March 23.<\/p>\n The update is compatible with all iPhones from the iPhone 11 onwards, including the latest iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, 17e and iPhone Air.<\/p>\n MORE FROM FORBESApple iPhone 18 Pro Price Detailed In New ReportBy David Phelan<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/bdac26eff360741bd64266d0c21326de.jpeg\"\/)
<\/a>What Is Stolen Device Protection?<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Apple releases iOS 26.4 for the iPhone, likely in the next 48 hours or so \u2014 you…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":551951,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[16357,49,48,61],"class_list":["post-551950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-apple-iphone","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/551951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}