Security Best Practices
Your phone often holds your email, your sign-in codes and your banking apps. These are the built-in settings that protect it, and what to do if it goes missing.
Last updated October 22, 2026
A few settings, set once, do most of the work. Each takes a few minutes. Menu names vary a little by phone model and software version.
Updates fix security flaws that attackers already know about. Let the phone install them for you.
Your passcode protects everything on the phone, and on many phones it can also change account settings. A short PIN or a pattern is easier to guess or watch over your shoulder.
Get apps from the App Store or Google Play, not from links in messages. Then check what each app can reach.
Sign-in codes often arrive by text or email. If previews show on a locked screen, anyone holding the phone can read them.
These protections must be turned on before the phone goes missing. Check them today.
If someone steals your iPhone and knows your passcode, this adds a Face ID or Touch ID check for actions such as using saved passwords. Away from familiar places, changing your Apple Account password also requires a one-hour wait and a second check.
Settings > Google > All services > Theft protection. The options available depend on your phone and Android version.
These let you see a missing phone or tablet on a map, lock it and, as a last resort, erase it.
Work through these in order, from another device.
Lock the phone remotely first, so nobody can use it while you work through the rest.
Lock the phone first (Find My, Find Hub or Android Remote Lock); Remote Lock needs the phone's SIM to still be active. Then report the phone lost or stolen and ask the carrier to disable service on it, so your number and text-message codes don't keep arriving on a phone someone else holds. If you haven't already, ask about an account PIN and number-lock protection.
Start with the accounts that can reset others.
Erasing can't be undone, and afterwards you usually can't locate the device. Apple suggests doing it only after you've tried everything else. File a police report as well; the police may ask for the serial number.
Both platforms offer a stricter mode. It trades some convenience for fewer ways in.
Give a child their own account on their own device rather than sharing yours, so your email, banking and payment apps aren't one tap away.
Protocol Wealth will never ask for your password, PIN, private key, seed phrase or one-time code. If you receive a suspicious message that appears to come from us, don't respond to it. Contact us using a phone number you already have, or at [email protected]. Our client disclosure on cybersecurity best practices describes how we protect client information.
This page is educational and general. It is not personalized investment, tax, legal or security advice, and following it can reduce risk but cannot eliminate it. Links to government and third-party sites are provided for convenience; Protocol Wealth does not control those sites and is not affiliated with them. Protocol Wealth, LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser (CRD #335298). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.