Designed to prevent sophisticated and powerful cyberattacks on Apple devices, Lockdown Mode provides superior security settings for iPhones running iOS 16 or later and iPads running iPadOS 16 or later. Lockdown Mode can also be used on MacBooks starting with macOS Ventura (13.0).
What happens in shutdown mode?
When Lockdown is enabled, this is what happens to secure your iPhone or iPad.
FaceTime: All FaceTime calls will be blocked except for calls from people you’ve called.
Messages: Apple’s built-in Messages app blocks all attachments except photos, links, and other shared content.
Browsing the web: In Safari, some advanced performance-enhancing technologies will stop working.
Shared albums: All shared albums in the Photos app are deleted, and new invitations to share albums are blocked.
Device connections: Wired connections to computers and other devices are blocked when the device is locked.
Apple services: Invitations from others to join Apple services are blocked, except for those to which you have already been invited.
Profiles: Configuration profiles that may be used to install beta or modified versions of your device’s operating system cannot be installed.
Who needs lockdown mode?
In the realm of security, there’s always a trade-off between providing protection and giving up so much that your device becomes useless or inconvenient to use, and that certainly applies to Apple’s Lock Mode.
It’s pretty easy to decide whether you need to use Lock Mode on your iPhone or iPad, because most of us simply won’t need all that security.
We all need strong protection for our devices, of course, but Lock Mode is designed specifically for those who are likely to be subjected to the most powerful and sophisticated cyberattacks.
These are often politicians, journalists, and activists. Essentially, they’re the people who do important, potentially sensitive, or risky work, and whose data their adversaries might want to target.
So, for the average user, Lock Mode is often more than they need. If you’re not in one of these vulnerable groups, just follow the usual tips for keeping your devices safe.
In general, if you want to activate it, you can do so through these simple steps:
Go to Settings. Click on Privacy & Security. Click on Lockdown Mode. At the bottom of the list you will find the option Lockdown Mode, click on it and then click Turn On Lockdown Mode. A confirmation window will appear, click again to activate the mode, then the iPhone will restart in lockdown mode.