Intro to security and privacy
Overview
iPhone, iPad, and Mac provide security and privacy settings to protect devices, organizational data, and personal data. Many of these protections are on by default, and each can be configured.
Face ID or Touch ID use biometrics to let a user unlock a device and authenticate without entering a password.
Passwords and passkeys generate and store strong, unique credentials and support two-factor authentication.
App privacy access settings require an app to request permission before it can use sensitive information or access device hardware.
App Tracking Transparency requires apps to ask permission before tracking a user’s activity across other companies’ apps and websites.
Mail Privacy Protection hides a user’s IP address and loads remote email content privately, so senders can’t tell when or where a message was opened.
Location Services lets a user grant or deny apps access to location data.
Software updates on iPhone and iPad deliver the latest features and security fixes.
Software updates on Mac deliver the latest features and security fixes.
Background Security Improvements deliver security fixes without requiring a full software update.
Lockdown Mode provides an optional, extreme level of protection for users who might be personally targeted by sophisticated digital threats.
Find My helps a user locate a lost device, and Activation Lock deters anyone from reactivating it, even after a remote erase.
Additional protections for iPhone:
Stolen Device Protection adds a layer of security when a device is away from familiar locations, requiring Face ID or Touch ID and, for changes to critical settings, a one-hour security delay.
Additional protections for macOS:
FileVault requires a login password to decrypt user data, protecting it even if someone has physical access to the Mac.
Firewall protects a Mac from unwanted contact from other computers on the internet or a network.
System Integrity Protection protects sensitive areas of the file system.
App Store security protections help users safely discover and download apps.
Startup security in macOS restricts who can start up a Mac and what devices can be used to do it.
User accounts control who can log in to a Mac and what they can do.
Malware defense on Mac works in three layers, each focused on a different protection:
Preventing launch: The App Store, Gatekeeper, and Notarization work together to stop malware from launching on a Mac.
Blocking execution: XProtect identifies and blocks malware that appears on a Mac before it can spread.
Remediation: XProtect removes malware that has already executed.
Managed environments
An organization can use device management to enforce organizational security policies and privacy settings, and to configure or restrict which of these settings a user can change. To see which settings are managed, review the configurations and profiles installed on the device. To learn how device management delivers these settings, see Intro to device management.
An organization uses Managed Lost Mode instead of Find My to lock and locate a lost or stolen iPhone or iPad. A device management service can also lock a Mac.