Activation Lock Protecting iPhone Users Against Thieves Better Than Imagined

While the iPhone is being beat by Android in terms of the number of models sold, Apple has still managed to put together a package that has frustrated thieves since the first iPhone hit the market. Find my iPhone has always been the go-to way for people to make sure that if they misplace their iPhone or have it stolen, they can find it and the thief quickly. Of course, there are some ways to get around this program and the longer the device has been out on the market, the easier it has become to find those workarounds.

A relatively new feature, which was launched in 2013 is basically killing the joy thieves find by taking a person’s and turning it into cold hard cash. In some of the world’s biggest cities the Activation Lock has acted as a final line of defense for iPhone users. This particular solution has a kind of a kill feature that renders an iPhone useless when taken away from the owner.

Since this particular solution was first launched, Reuters is reporting that the volume of iPhones that have been stolen in New York has dropped by 25 percent, 40 percent in San Francisco and by 50 percent in London. This activation lock was rolled out alongside iOS 7 in September of 2013 and means that someone needs your Apple ID and password in order to erase and reactivate a device. This means that people who are looking to resell a phone or iPad for a quick buck are going to be thwarted.

It was the leaders in New York, San Francisco and London that have been talking the most about getting smartphone makers to install these kinds of kill switches. Now that iPhone has had so much success with Activation Lock, Android is following suit with its own Factory Reset Protection. Pretty soon, it doesn’t appear trying to steal a smartphone will be worth the effort.