According to the results of a survey conducted by the office of San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, a large percentage of people who own iPhones actually use the phone's Activation Lock security feature. Based on the results, the DA says that Apple should just enable the feature by default on all their iPhones.
Apple's Activation Lock was introduced along with the release of iOS 7. The feature allows users to prevent other people from resetting an iOS 7 device such as an iPhone or an iPad without proper authorization. The Activation Lock also allows for the use of Apple's "Find my Phone" feature that helps owners track lost or stolen iPhones.
According to Gascón, 78 percent of the people involved in the survey have activated the Activation Lock on their iPhones. Gascón has also stated that the results give credence to the idea that all Apple mobile products should come with the Activation Lock enabled to begin with.
"Apple should be commended for leading the way and making efforts to safeguard their customers, but it is still too early to tell how effective their solution will be," Gascón said in a statement.
"Until Activation Lock is fully opt-out, it appears many iPhone owners will not have the solution enabled. This leaves iPhone users at a risk as thieves cannot distinguish between those devices that have the feature enabled and those that do not," he added.
The survey was conducted on 313 people residing in San Francisco. Though the sample size may seem lacking in terms of number as well as geographical distribution, Gascón believes that the result of the survey is still indicative of what has to be done. As such, Gascón has called on Apple to implement the changes that will help reduce the occurrence of iPhone and iPad theft.
The survey was conducted in an effort to rejuvenate calls to increase security on mobile devices. Other proposed security measures involve the use of remote "kill switches" that can be implemented by carriers to remotely shut down stolen phones. However, carriers have not been very receptive to the idea and different measures may need to be taken.
