How to Get the Most Out of Your Smartphone's Encryption

You may not think much about encryption day to day, but it’s the reason the FBI can't easily get at the data on the iPhones that come into its possession; it also means if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to get anything off it without the PIN code. In short, it makes it much, much harder for anyone to get at your photos, messages, documents, and everything else you've got stored on your phone. Everything on an iPhone is locked down as soon as you set a PIN code, a Touch ID fingerprint, or a Face ID face—your PIN, fingerprint, or face acts as the key to unlock the encryption, which is why you're able to read your messages and view your files as soon as your phone is unlocked. You can choose to leave local iTunes or Finder backups unencrypted if you want, via the tick box labeled Encrypt local backup on the Summary or General tab.