Guide to Staying Safe

How to make it as difficult as possible for smartphone thieves

The back pocket is an unfavorable place to keep your cell phone: It’s easy for thieves to grab, it falls out easily, and it’s prone to damage.(Bild: Racle Fotodesign)

High-end smartphones cost as much as a good computer and contain their owners’ entire digital lives—family photos, banking apps, social media accounts—in short: highly valuable data. This makes them a coveted target for thieves. That’s why we’re showing you which settings to use to make life as difficult as possible for thieves.

Apple’s iPhone operating system, iOS, has long been equipped with sophisticated location and anti-theft features—most notably the “Find My” feature, which helps locate lost phones and other devices. In the Android world, Google has also introduced a range of features designed to make life harder for thieves. We’ll show users of both operating systems how to use them.