As protests continue in the US over the death of George Floyd, police have clashed with protesters who have expressed their anger in violent ways. Taking advantage of the unrest, many people have begun looting retail stores in their area. One of the victims of these lootings is Apple stores. According to Forbes, the company's stores in Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Philadelphia have been attacked and robbed.
But Apple is prepared for such incidents, and it seems that the thieves were fooled. The company has created software that disables iPhones that have been illegally taken away. However, very few people are aware of this feature.
A video posted on Twitter shows the capabilities of this software. As seen in the post, a stolen iPhone displays a message on its screen when the user tries to turn it on: “This device has been disabled and is being monitored.”
The message also states that “local authorities have been notified.” This warning alone is enough to scare anyone who sees it. It’s very likely that the robbers, fearing being caught, will throw away the device or try to quickly sell it on the black market.
And while the chances of the devices are slim, Apple ensures that stolen iPhones cannot be used even by thieves.
The iPhone's lock feature is also available to regular users. If a person loses an Apple product, the company recommends reporting it as lost, which will lock the device, making it virtually useless. So as far as thieves are concerned, it seems Apple doesn't intend to let them walk free until they return or somehow dispose of the devices they stole from its stores.
