Apple Seeds First Public Beta of iOS 17.3 With Stolen Device Protection

Thursday December 14, 2023 10:10 am PST by Juli Clover

Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 17.3 and iPadOS 17.3 updates to public beta testers, allowing non-developers to test the software ahead of its release. The public iOS 17.3 and iPadOS 17.3 betas come two days after Apple released the betas for developers.

iOS 17
Public beta testers can get the beta by opening up the Settings app, going to the Software Update section, tapping on the "Beta Updates" option, and toggling on the iOS 17 or iPadOS 17 Public Beta. Signing up on Apple's beta testing website is required.

iOS 17.3 includes Stolen Device Protection, a feature that offers an extra layer of security in case your iPhone is stolen and the thief also obtains your passcode. With this turned on, Face ID or Touch ID authentication is required for viewing iCloud Keychain passwords, turning off Lost Mode, erasing an iPhone's contents, using saved payment methods in Safari, and more. There is no passcode entry option should ‌Face ID‌ or ‌Touch ID‌ fail.

Certain actions, such as changing an Apple ID password, updating a device passcode, turning off Find My, and removing ‌Face ID‌ require authentication and also a one-hour security delay.

The update also adds collaborative Apple Music playlists, a feature that lets Apple Music subscribers build playlists with friends, family members, and others who share their musical tastes. Any playlist can be turned into a collaborative playlist by tapping on the person-shaped icon and sharing the link.

Those who want to try it out in iOS 17.3 can click on the MacRumors playlist link to try adding a song.

We are expecting iOS 17.3 and iPadOS 17.3 to be released in January 2024.

Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

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Top Rated Comments

antiprotest

38 months ago

Someone will get into some accident where their face is damaged enough that Face ID fails then what?

A person can also get into an accident and damage his brain and forgets his passcode.

An asteroid can also fall and hit the person, rendering the passcode, face, and fingerprint irrelevant, even if the phone survives.

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

antiprotest

38 months ago

They should add the option to toggle on/off FaceID check for each app after the phone has been unlocked when not at home.

There are apps that I don't want people getting into in the case where it is snatched while I am using the phone unlocked outside of my home -- such as banking apps, or even emails and messages, but not things like games and weather.

I would not want the slight delay for FaceID when the phone is safe at home, but I would like to have a master switch that automatically locks the apps that I have chosen to protect when I am not at home, and a manual switch in control center.

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

CharlesShaw

38 months ago

This is the first time I’ve ever been tempted to be a public beta tester.

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

noSpeed

38 months ago

This should fall under their "rapid security response" update or whatever they call it. Glad they're addressing the issue in a reasonably timely manner though.

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

zach-coleman

38 months ago

They should add the option to toggle on/off FaceID check for each app after the phone has been unlocked when not at home.

There are apps that I don't want people getting into in the case where it is snatched while I am using the phone unlocked outside of my home -- such as banking apps, or even emails and messages, but not things like games and weather.

I would not want the slight delay for FaceID when the phone is safe at home, but I would like to have a master switch that automatically locks the apps that I have chosen to protect when I am not at home, and a manual switch in control center.

I've gotta hand it to Samsung here, they've had this for years. It feels like a really common sense feature, especially since they throw privacy and security around so often.

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)