How to Erase Data With Find My iPhone
To remotely erase the data on your missing iPhone, you’ll need to do a little setup first to make it possible.
Enable Find My iPhone
Turn on the Find my iPhone feature on your phone and connect an active iCloud account on your device for Find My iPhone to work. An iCloud account is offered for free from Apple.
Open the Settings app. Select your Apple ID account (the top item in the Settings app). Select Find My. (In older versions of iOS, choose iCloud). Choose Find My iPhone and switch it On.
Remotely Erase Your Missing iPhone
When you’re sure you won’t get your phone back, use the remote erase feature.
Open the Find iPhone app from another iOS device such as an iPad or from a computer’s web browser. Visit the iCloud. com website and log in to your iCloud account. Select All Devices, then choose the device you want to erase. Select Erase iPhone.
Self-Destruct After Too Many Failed Passcode Attempts
You can set your iPhone to automatically erase its data if the wrong passcode is entered more than 10 times by following these steps.
Open the Settings app. Select Touch ID & Passcode or Face ID & Passcode if your iPhone uses Face ID authentication. Enter your passcode if prompted. If you do not have a passcode enabled, turn this on first by selecting Turn Passcode On. Set a passcode of your choice and confirm it. Consider setting a stronger passcode than the default 4-digit one for extra security. Move the Erase Data toggle switch to On/green. Read the warning and tap Enable. Your phone is now set to automatically erase all of its data after 10 failed passcode entry attempts.
Use Caution With Erase Data Settings
If you have kids or someone else that uses your phone, the Erase Data option could be a problem if you’re not careful. Your child might innocently try to guess the code too many times and accidentally erase your iPhone’s data. The remote erase feature might make more sense in situations where you have others who regularly use (or play with) your iPhone.
