Table of Contents
Personal Safety User Guide for Apple devices
- Welcome
- Personal safety at a glance
- What’s new in personal safety
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- Use Safety Check to stop sharing
- How Safety Check works
- Additional considerations when using Safety Check
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- Intro to review and take action
- Secure AirDrop and NameDrop
- Securely control whom you share content with from iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch
- Securely control whom you share content with from Mac
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- Share or stop sharing your location
- Manage automatic ETA sharing in Maps
- Manage Location Services settings
- Stop and remove location metadata in Photos
- Stay safe with AirTag
- Safely manage how you forward content
- Reject unknown sign-in attempts
- Record suspicious activity
- Store your data securely in iCloud
- Delete suspicious content
- Manage Family Sharing settings
- Avoid fraudulent requests to share info
- Securely control your Home accessories
- How to erase all content and settings
- Restore the data you backed up
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- Intro to privacy and safety tools
- Update your Apple software
- Set a unique passcode or password
- Secure your iPhone or iPad with Face ID
- Secure your devices with Touch ID
- Delete unknown fingerprints from iPhone or iPad
- Add or delete fingerprints on your Mac
- Keep your Apple ID secure
- Use two-factor authentication
- Help prevent being locked out of your device
- Keep your device, app, and website passwords secure on iPhone and iPad
- Manage shared password and passkeys
- App privacy features in Apple products
- Harden your devices against mercenary spyware
- Manage safety settings in Messages
- Use Check In for Messages
- Block calls and messages
- Receive warnings about sensitive images and videos on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
- Keep your browsing history private
- Make an emergency call or text on iPhone or Apple Watch
- Obtain evidence related to another person’s account
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- See who has access to your iPhone or iPad
- How to stop sharing your iPhone or iPad content
- How to stop sharing your iPhone or iPad location
- Copyright
If you’re concerned someone may have had physical access to your device and tampered with its built-in security, you can restore the device to its factory settings—even if you aren’t running the latest version of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. A factory restore erases the information and settings on your device. This includes removing any apps that were installed without your knowledge and resetting your privacy settings so you aren’t sharing location with any people or apps. It also installs the latest version of the operating system.
This process, known as Erase All Content and Settings, requires internet access and can take some time; however, it helps ensure that your device can be accessed only by you.
Important: When you use Erase All Content and Settings, all your data is erased.
If you want to use Erase All Content and Settings on your Mac, you must be running macOS 12.0.1 or later. Alternatively, you can erase your Mac. See the Apple Support articles Use Disk Utility to erase a Mac with Apple silicon and Use Disk Utility to erase an Intel-based Mac.
Find out how: To view a task below, select the plus button 
next to its title.
Erase your iPhone or iPad and restore it to factory settings
Go to Settings
> General > Reset, then tap Erase all Contents and Settings.Enter your passcode or Apple ID password.
Wait for all content to be safely removed from your device.
> General > Reset, then tap Erase all Contents and Settings.
Erase your Mac and restore it to factory settings
Do one of the following:
On your Mac running macOS 13 or later: Choose Apple menu
> System Settings, click General , click Transfer or Reset, then click Erase All Content and Settings.On your Mac running macOS 12 or earlier: Choose Apple menu
> System Preferences, then in the menu bar, choose System Preferences > Erase All Content and Settings.
In Erase Assistant, enter your administrator information (the password you use to log in to your Mac).
Review items that will be removed in addition to your content and settings.
On your Mac running multiple user accounts, click the arrow next to your account name to review the items.
Click Continue, then follow the onscreen instructions.
> System Settings, click General 
, See alsoApple Support article: How to factory reset your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touchApple Support article: Use Disk Utility to erase a Mac with Apple siliconAdditional safety resources
Download this guide as a PDF
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