Increase Siri Security: Siri is a great helper for certain tasks, like helping us control our music. Its key is the speed and comfort when carrying them out. As a result, some minor functions can be activated or used by someone outside the device.
How to Increase Siri Security on iPhone Lock Screen
They are not too sophisticated, but it is convenient to know what they are in order to make a decision. Let’s see what Siri can do on the lock screen and how we can increase its security by disabling it.
This is all Siri can do on the lock screen without authentication
The iPhone differs from other devices in that it goes with us (almost) everywhere. This makes it the target of potential theft or loss. There may simply be an opportunity for someone to access it and obtain certain information in our misgivings . In other words, it is more susceptible to people outside the user having unauthorized access to our terminal.
By default, Siri can be used for some functions even with the screen locked. This means that it is not necessary to be authenticated to be able to invoke the wizard and that anyone with access to the terminal can do so. Here are some of those commands that can be given to Siri on the lock screen:
- Activate or deactivate do not disturb mode.
- Enable or disable Wi-Fi connection.
- Activate or deactivate the data connection.
- Activate or deactivate the bluetooth connection.
- Send a message to a specific contact.
- Make a call to a specific contact.
- Get the phone number and full name of the owner.
- Open the camera.
- Create events on the calendar. In case of coinciding with others, it will notify you.
- Create reminders.
- Manage HomeKit accessories.
Some of themare perfectly harmless. Others like creating calendar events or reminders would be more of a hassle than anything. Where we can find a certain risk to our privacy or security is in requests to call or write to a specific contact.
For this you need to know the name of the contact. Or simply test if the user has family relationships configured in their contacts, to be able to say “call my wife” or “write a message to my father.”
Perhaps the most “risky” function is asking Siri “who I am” and asking Siri to give you the full name and phone number. But this is intended for occasions when the iPhone is lost and whoever finds it wants to contact its owner to return it.
How to disable Siri from the lock screen
As we have seen, Siri on the lock screen can be a small door to our privacy. Although it does not allow access to the internal content of the device, delete it or modify it , we can prefer that Siri cannot be accessed from the iPhone lock screen. To do this, just follow these steps:
- With your iPhone unlocked, go to Settings> Touch ID or Face ID and passcode.
- In the section “Allow access when blocked”, we will uncheck Siri.
- We will go back and the setting will have been changed.
And that’s it.Siri will no longer be usable on the iPhone lock screen. Keep in mind that this means that you will not be able to take advantage of the functions offered by the assistant without being authenticated in your terminal. Which will add some discomfort in exchange for some security and privacy.