Upcoming iPhone feature could kick in the moment your phone is swiped

Apple has plenty of security tools built into the iPhone, including Stolen Device Protection, Lockdown mode, and Activation Lock, which all work to secure your device that’s been lost or stolen. But sometimes your phone is snatched so quickly, there isn’t time for any of these methods to kick in. 

Apple apparently has a solution in the works. According to code seen by 9to5Mac, Apple is developing a new security feature that will automatically lock your iPhone when it detects that the device has been quickly snatched from your hand. The system will utilize the iPhone’s built-in accelerometer and other on-device cues to determine that your device has likely been swiped rather than dropped.

9to5 also reports that the feature will also “observe the distance from a paired Apple Watch.”

This new feature may sound like something you’ll never need to use, but thefts like this are more commonplace than you might think. A report in the New York Times just last week highlighted a troubling new trend where an iPhone is snatched by a bike rider so quickly that they’re able to still access the home screen before it locks. The thieves then send threatening texts to family members looking to unlink the Apple ID from the stolen phone. 

It’s not clear when this new feature will arrive, if ever, but with WWDC less than two weeks away and a new iPhone arriving this fall, it could be sooner than later.