Lock Down Your iPhone Before You Travel
Follow this step-by-step checklist to protect your phone, apps, and accounts from theft while traveling.
Based on: Your iPhone Is NOT Safe When You Travel (Fix This!) by Project Untethered
Follow this step-by-step checklist to protect your phone, apps, and accounts from theft while traveling.
Based on: Your iPhone Is NOT Safe When You Travel (Fix This!) by Project Untethered
What would happen if a stranger grabbed your iPhone right now and already knew your passcode? For most travelers, the honest answer is terrifying — within minutes, a thief could be inside your bank account, resetting your email password, and locking you out of your entire digital life before you even realized your phone was gone.
This is not a rare worst-case scenario. In London alone, 71,000 phones were stolen in a single year — one every seven to eight minutes. And pickpockets, snatch thieves, and scammers have a well-practiced playbook. They know exactly which apps to open first, which keywords to search in your notes, and how to use your own phone to destroy your financial life in under an hour.
Now imagine the flip side. Your phone gets snatched on a busy street in Barcelona. The thief unlocks it — but every sensitive app demands his face, not just a passcode. Your banking apps are hidden. Your notes are clean. Find My is live and tracking. And because you set up Stolen Device Protection, he can't change a single security setting for at least an hour, giving you precious time to lock everything down remotely. That is what being actually prepared feels like.
Jon from Project Untethered has spent years helping travelers navigate the real risks of being abroad, and this particular video cuts straight to the settings and habits that make the biggest difference. He does not deal in vague advice — he walks through exact menu paths, names specific features, and explains precisely why each one matters in a real theft scenario. The kind of stuff most people never bother to set up until it is too late.
This PDF checklist turns everything covered in that video into a clean, printable action plan you can work through in about fifteen minutes. Every setting, every app, every habit, every step — organized in order so nothing gets missed. Whether you are leaving for a trip next week or just want the peace of mind of knowing your phone is properly locked down, this checklist gets it done fast. Run through it once before your next trip and travel knowing your iPhone is actually protected.
Every checklist item comes with actionable notes to guide you — things like "Don't forget to do this before you start," "Avoid this common mistake," or "Set a reminder for 30 days out." Nothing vague, just clear next steps.
+ 15 more action items inside...
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