When it comes to planning your vacation or holiday, something that might slip your mind, is improving the security of your mobile phone or cellphone.
It is important to tighten up the security on your phone, or mobile devices, before you travel, so you don’t end up in trouble away from home. Here are a selection of simple safety steps, to do before you travel.
Do A Phone Backup Before You Leave
Before you leave for your vacation or trip, make sure you do a full phone backup before you leave, so you don’t risk losing contacts, photos, tickets or important documents, while you’re away. If you end up losing your phone, or it is stolen, while you’re away, the recent backup will allow you to recover your data fast.
Check your phone storage limits, and move irreplaceable files and photos to a safe location, like a computer or external drive, as well as a reputable cloud service, so you’re doubly protected.
Check your phone’s data security settings, and make sure sensitive files are protected with strong passwords, or encryption, before you leave.
Update Your Phone And Apps While You Are Still On Home Wi-Fi
Make sure your phone is up-to-date with the latest software update, while you’re at home, using your safe and secure home Wi-Fi.
Update the most important travel apps first, like airlines, maps, translation and banking, so they’ll work offline, and support the latest security features.
To protect your phone, disable automatic downloads over cellular data, while you’re away, to control expensive data usage, while you’re on the road.
Set A Strong Passcode And Turn On Face ID Or Fingerprint Unlock
It is important at all times, but protect your phone with a strong password, and set up Face ID.
Boost your password strength, by using at least 6 digits, or an alphanumeric code that’s hard to guess and unrelated to your birthday, room number, or travel dates.
This will protect your device’s encryption, making your data far harder to crack if someone steals your phone.
Make Sure Find My Phone Or Find My Device Is Turned On
Before you leave, make sure you have either Find My iPhone or Find My Device set-up. If your phone is lost or stolen, you’ll be able to use a built-in location tracking function, to see it on a map, play a sound, or lock it remotely.
Enable the remote wiping features, so you’re able to erase all of your data, if you’re unable to get your phone back. This will protect your passwords, photos and messages, even if thieves manage to bypass other security apps.
Ensure you have a cellphone insurance policy in place, that covers your phone, when away from home, and check the small print to see if you need the Find My software to be active, to be able to make a claim.
Add your trusted family or friends as emergency contacts within your device, so they’re able to track or report your device as missing quickly, if something goes wrong whilst you travel.