Find my iPhone - also referred to as Find my iPod or Find my iPad on those devices - has always been a great way to help you find your phone or tablet under a sofa, in another room, or even at a restaurant, coffee shop, theater, or similar public place. It's been great for lost devices. Stolen devices, not so much. Now, with iOS 7, Apple is addressing theft with what they hope is a powerful new deterrent - activation lock. With Talk Mobile 2013 security week underway, lets see how it stands up...
Here's what Apple has to say about Find my iPhone for iOS 7 in general:
Losing your iPhone feels lousy. Thankfully, Find My iPhone can help you get it back. But if it looks like that’s not going to happen, new security features in iOS 7 make it harder for anyone who’s not you to use or sell your device. Now turning off Find My iPhone or erasing your device requires your Apple ID and password. Find My iPhone can also continue to display a custom message, even after your device is erased. And your Apple ID and password are required before anyone can reactivate it. Which means your iPhone is still your iPhone. No matter where it is.
And here's what Apple's show off so far:
- Find my Friends will, following the launch of iOS 7, sport a newly redesigned iOS 7-style interface. ('Natch.)
- There's a Lost Mode which track down your iOS device and shows its approximate location on a map, much as it always had. There are also handy buttons to enter Lost Mode, and well as to play a sound and to remotely wipe the device.
- If a thief wants to try and disable Find my iPhone, or wipe the phone to disable tracking, activation lock will force them to enter your Apple ID and password first, and if not entered, prevent any software tampering with the tracking.
- If you remotely wipe a device, you can re-activate it using activation lock and your Apple ID and password as well.
iPhones and iPads are valuable targets for criminals and activation lock looks like a good way to make the devices less attractive. While it probably won't do much to slow down crooks who want to grab iPhones and iPads for parts, anyone hoping to resell a functional device now has to worry about circumventing activation lock as well.
Activation lock has already been put through its paces by the San Francisco District Attorney which is promising, though we'll have to wait and see how it performs, long term, before we have any idea how successful it in the real world.
Still, doing something is far better than doing nothing. Kudos to Apple for trying to make iOS devices higher hanging fruit.
Activation lock ships as part of iOS 7 this fall. The updated Find my Friends app will presumably be released at the same time as well.
- Find my iPhone: Everything you need to know
- iOS 7: Everything you need to know
- iOS 7: Discussion forum
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.

Beta testers will likely wait until July to get their hands on iOS 16
If all goes according to previous years we can expect Apple to release the first developer beta of iOS 16 on June 6, the same day that it will be announced. That's the date of the WWDC22 opening keynote but those who are part of the public beta program look set to be waiting a little while longer.

Verizon is hiking its wireless prices from June
Verizon is hiking the price of its wireless plans from June 16 in what it calls an “economic adjustment charge,” according to reports.

Review: Apex Legends Mobile is almost an entirely different game
Apex Legends Mobile has been in the works for a while, promising players a battle royale experience on the go. While it certainly does deliver on that portable shooter experience, it manages to separate itself from its source — for better or worse.

Lighting is crucial to photos — get the best shot with these portable LEDs
Shine a light on your phone’s snapshots with these iPhoneography accessories!