• Guide

How to activate Lockdown Mode on Apple devices

Here's how you can use Apple's new Lockdown Mode feature on your iPhone and other devices.

Donovan Erskine

July 15, 2022 11:25 AM

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Apple has made a strong effort to establish privacy and security as one of its key points of focus. We’ve seen several new features come to its family of devices over the years with the goal of protecting the information of its users, and that’s the same intent behind its latest feature. Lockdown Mode. The ultimate privacy protocol, let’s get into what exactly Lockdown Mode is and how you can activate it on your device.

How to activate Apple’s Lockdown Mode

Lockdown Mode is currently only available on early beta builds of iOS, but will roll out for all users in iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura later this year. To activate Lockdown Mode, navigate to the Privacy & Securities tab of the Settings app. There should be a tab for Lockdown Mode at the bottom, turn it on.

Apple shared all the details on Lockdown Mode in its announcement of the feature in July 2022. The company recommends that users only activate Lockdown Mode if they fear that they’re being targeted in some sort of cyber attack. When your device is in Lockdown Mode, it will impact the following processes, as detailed by Apple.

• Messages: Most message attachment types other than images are blocked. Some features, like link previews, are disabled.
• Web browsing: Certain complex web technologies, like just-in-time (JIT) JavaScript compilation, are disabled unless the user excludes a trusted site from Lockdown Mode.
• Apple services: Incoming invitations and service requests, including FaceTime calls, are blocked if the user has not previously sent the initiator a call or request.
• Wired connections with a computer or accessory are blocked when iPhone is locked.
• Configuration profiles cannot be installed, and the device cannot enroll into mobile device management (MDM), while Lockdown Mode is turned on.

That’s what Lockdown Mode is and how you can activate it on an Apple Device. For everything you need to know about the newest updates coming to Apple devices, Shacknews is your place.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_