Apple has come up with a clever solution to keep thieves out of your digital accounts. Consider the situation: You are at a bar, swiping through your phone while a bad actor is looking over your shoulder, trying to read the phone’s PIN and passcodes. This is where Stolen Device Protection comes in and it is now part of iOS 17.3 Beta (you will be able to download it once the public version is introduced).

Once you enable the feature, it will become harder to perform certain tasks, like changing your Apple ID password, passcode or viewing your other passwords when the user is away from a familiar place.

Once you opt in, you will need to verify your identity with face or fingerprint biometrics when doing things like viewing your saved passwords in iCloud Keychain, factory resetting your device, using saved payment methods in Safari, and turning off Lost Mode.

“As threats to user devices continue to evolve, we work tirelessly to develop powerful new protections for our users and their data. iPhone data encryption has long led the industry, and a thief can’t access data on a stolen iPhone without knowing the user’s passcode. In the rare cases where a thief can observe the user entering the passcode and then steal the device, Stolen Device Protection adds a sophisticated new layer of protection,” said an Apple spokesperson.

It should be noted that the security concern came to the fore after a report by The Wall Street Journal described how thieves watch victims key in their iPhone passcodes and then steal their devices.