The worrying setting on your iPhone that could let anyone access it while you sleep…

Imagine this chilling possibility: as you sleep peacefully, someone in your home picks up your iPhone. 

With a simple trick, they fool your iPhone’s facial recognition, granting them unrestricted access to your texts, photos, videos, social media accounts, banking and more.

It’s shocking to think that anyone can unlock your phone without your knowledge when you’re sleeping.

Smartphones come packed with accessibility features for people with vision, hearing or mobility impairments

A common fear is that someone could hold your phone to your face while you’re sleeping to unlock it

As anyone with a relatively modern iPhone knows, it’s possible using Apple’s Face ID to open your phone just by looking at it.

Your phone’s TrueDepth camera captures accurate face data by analyzing thousands of invisible dots. 

It maps all your curves and wrinkles and stores that data as a key to unlock your phone.

Face ID automatically adapts to changes in your appearance, such as wearing makeup, growing facial hair, or even wearing a face mask. 

If there’s a more significant change in your appearance, like shaving your beard, Face ID confirms your identity by using your passcode prior to updating your face data.

It’s actually very innovative and works with hats, scarves, glasses, contact lenses and sunglasses. 

Apple claims there’s just a one-in-a-million chance that someone else’s face can unlock your iPhone. 

OK, that’s good to know. But what about your face?

A common fear is that someone could hold your phone to your face while you’re sleeping to unlock it. 

The thing is that these systems don’t work if your eyes are closed. Whew!

But wait! There’s a way to bypass this safeguard built into your iPhone. Read on to prevent this from happening to you.

Check your settings

Smartphones come packed with accessibility features for people with vision, hearing or mobility impairments. You can make the text on your screen larger or have the phone dictate what’s on the screen. AssistiveTouch helps you use your iPhone if you have difficulty touching the screen or pressing the buttons.

These are essential tools for the people who need them, but one setting could put your security at risk. Face ID also has an accessibility feature to support people who are blind or have poor vision. With this setting, you don’t need to open your eyes to unlock your phone.

While some people need this, you shouldn’t use it if your vision isn’t impaired. Here’s where to find it:

● Go to Settings > Accessibility > Face ID & Attention.

● Make sure Require Attention for Face ID is enabled.

While this setting is enabled by default, someone with access to your phone could disable and unlock it while you sleep. That’s a scary thought, so a quick check here is more than worth it.