{"slug": "lockdown-mode", "name": "Lockdown Mode", "category": "security", "category_name": "Security and passwords", "description": "", "recommenders": 5, "commenters": 11, "warners": 1, "score": 4.867, "rising": -0.31, "first": "2026-01-31", "latest": "2026-08-13", "why": "", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 5, "neutral": 5, "compare": 0, "warn": 1}, "spark": [0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "", "kind": "", "icon": false, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Lockdown Mode"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 788700608, "item_id": 49293788, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49293788", "by": "wslh", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Lockdown mode?", "excerpt": "Lockdown mode? https://support.apple.com/en-us/105120", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "How Obama's BlackBerry got secured (2023)"}, {"id": 770484913, "item_id": 48155307, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48155307", "by": "wffurr", "date": "2026-05-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Apple's security posture with lockdown mode", "excerpt": "Apple's security posture with lockdown mode, memory tagging, and secure allocators is significantly better than Android. You can read some about it here: https://security.apple.com/blog/memory-integrity-enforcement/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "A 0-click exploit chain for the Pixel 10"}, {"id": 760746272, "item_id": 47546642, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47546642", "by": "lebovic", "date": "2026-03-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Lockdown mode lessens that surface.", "excerpt": "This doesn't answer your question, but I use lockdown mode and know many others who do the same. I use it on my personal phone and laptop, but I have another phone and laptop for development work. I did this because I think many more people have the ability to find and exploit security gaps as models get better, to the point that attacks might done \"for fun\" by individuals rather than from someone using NSO's product", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple says no one using Lockdown Mode has been hacked with spyware"}, {"id": 752563616, "item_id": 47035226, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47035226", "by": "jsheard", "date": "2026-02-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "consider using lockdown mode", "excerpt": "And if you use iPhones and have reason to be really paranoid, consider using lockdown mode. https://support.apple.com/en-us/105120", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "The Israeli spyware firm that accidentally just exposed itself"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 750207376, "item_id": 46887961, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46887961", "by": "TheDong", "date": "2026-02-04", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I find it so frustrating that Lockdown Mode is so all-or-nothing.", "excerpt": "I find it so frustrating that Lockdown Mode is so all-or-nothing. I want some of the lockdown stuff (No facetime and message attachments, no link previews, no device connections), but like half of the other ones I don't want. Why can't I just toggle an iMessage setting for \"no link preview, no attachments\", or a general setting for \"no automatic device connection to untrusted computers while locked\"? Sure, leave the ", "context": "iPhone user", "use_case": "iPhone security hardening", "switched_from": "", "story": "FBI couldn't get into WaPo reporter's iPhone because Lockdown Mode enabled"}]}], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["hardening device security", "iphone security hardening", "device attack protection"], "compared": [], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47544614", "title": "Apple says no one using Lockdown Mode has been hacked with spyware", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46886237", "title": "FBI couldn't get into WaPo reporter's iPhone because Lockdown Mode enabled", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48148460", "title": "A 0-click exploit chain for the Pixel 10", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49293292", "title": "How Obama's BlackBerry got secured (2023)", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47033976", "title": "The Israeli spyware firm that accidentally just exposed itself", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46843967", "title": "FBI unable to extract data from iPhone 13 in Lockdown Mode in high profile case [pdf]", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-02": {"neutral": 2, "warn": 1, "recommend": 1}, "2026-03": {"neutral": 2, "recommend": 1}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"neutral": 1, "recommend": 1}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "quotes": [{"id": 788700608, "item_id": 49293788, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49293788", "by": "wslh", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Lockdown mode?", "excerpt": "Lockdown mode? https://support.apple.com/en-us/105120", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "How Obama's BlackBerry got secured (2023)"}, {"id": 770484913, "item_id": 48155307, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48155307", "by": "wffurr", "date": "2026-05-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Apple's security posture with lockdown mode", "excerpt": "Apple's security posture with lockdown mode, memory tagging, and secure allocators is significantly better than Android. You can read some about it here: https://security.apple.com/blog/memory-integrity-enforcement/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "A 0-click exploit chain for the Pixel 10"}, {"id": 770412704, "item_id": 48150794, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48150794", "by": "mark_l_watson", "date": "2026-05-15", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "having Lockdown mode set doesn't seem to affect anything I do.", "excerpt": "No, just keep the usual tax/finacial/health data on my devices. I consider Anthropic's Mythros security bug finder mostly marketing, but other things worry me that there might be a global hack contagion: for example, a few months ago I saw in the news that an executive at a US security company was caught selling information to a hacking group. Except for disabled Javascript compilation possibly slowing down web sites", "context": "", "use_case": "Hardening device security", "switched_from": "", "story": "A 0-click exploit chain for the Pixel 10"}, {"id": 760746272, "item_id": 47546642, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47546642", "by": "lebovic", "date": "2026-03-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Lockdown mode lessens that surface.", "excerpt": "This doesn't answer your question, but I use lockdown mode and know many others who do the same. I use it on my personal phone and laptop, but I have another phone and laptop for development work. I did this because I think many more people have the ability to find and exploit security gaps as models get better, to the point that attacks might done \"for fun\" by individuals rather than from someone using NSO's product", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple says no one using Lockdown Mode has been hacked with spyware"}, {"id": 760741008, "item_id": 47546313, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47546313", "by": "CharlesW", "date": "2026-03-27", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "it does more than disabling attachments", "excerpt": "I know you're not being serious, but for anyone who may not realize that, it does more than disabling attachments. Lockdown Mode's \"optional, extreme\" protection substantially changes the experience of using your device. https://support.apple.com/en-us/105120", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple says no one using Lockdown Mode has been hacked with spyware"}, {"id": 760725184, "item_id": 47545324, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47545324", "by": "ectospheno", "date": "2026-03-27", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "The impact to my life has been minor.", "excerpt": "I\u2019ve used it on my personal iPhone since the feature was released. The impact to my life has been minor. I can\u2019t share some thing with my wife in the health app and my son can\u2019t SharePlay with me in the car while I use CarPlay.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple says no one using Lockdown Mode has been hacked with spyware"}, {"id": 752563616, "item_id": 47035226, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47035226", "by": "jsheard", "date": "2026-02-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "consider using lockdown mode", "excerpt": "And if you use iPhones and have reason to be really paranoid, consider using lockdown mode. https://support.apple.com/en-us/105120", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "The Israeli spyware firm that accidentally just exposed itself"}, {"id": 750207376, "item_id": 46887961, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46887961", "by": "TheDong", "date": "2026-02-04", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I find it so frustrating that Lockdown Mode is so all-or-nothing.", "excerpt": "I find it so frustrating that Lockdown Mode is so all-or-nothing. I want some of the lockdown stuff (No facetime and message attachments, no link previews, no device connections), but like half of the other ones I don't want. Why can't I just toggle an iMessage setting for \"no link preview, no attachments\", or a general setting for \"no automatic device connection to untrusted computers while locked\"? Sure, leave the ", "context": "iPhone user", "use_case": "iPhone security hardening", "switched_from": "", "story": "FBI couldn't get into WaPo reporter's iPhone because Lockdown Mode enabled"}, {"id": 750191008, "item_id": 46886938, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46886938", "by": "ChrisArchitect", "date": "2026-02-04", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "FBI unable to extract data from iPhone 13 in Lockdown Mode", "excerpt": "Previously, direct link to the court doc: FBI unable to extract data from iPhone 13 in Lockdown Mode in high profile case [pdf] https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vaed.588772/gov.uscourts.vaed.588772.35.0_1.pdf (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46843967)", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "FBI couldn't get into WaPo reporter's iPhone because Lockdown Mode enabled"}, {"id": 750189184, "item_id": 46886824, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46886824", "by": "steve-atx-7600", "date": "2026-02-04", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "", "excerpt": "Looks like it\u2019s a feature: https://support.apple.com/en-us/105120", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "FBI couldn't get into WaPo reporter's iPhone because Lockdown Mode enabled"}, {"id": 749505520, "item_id": 46844095, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46844095", "by": "armadyl", "date": "2026-01-31", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "", "excerpt": "The things that Lockdown Mode disables actually massively reduce attack surface at the expense of user experience. For example, Graphite, the spyware used by Paragon gets stopped in its tracks by Lockdown Mode as it disables link previews in iMessage (probably one of the more vulnerable apps due to it\u2019s system privileges alongside Safari I believe) which can prevent zero-click attacks: https://citizenlab.ca/research/", "context": "", "use_case": "device attack protection", "switched_from": "", "story": "FBI unable to extract data from iPhone 13 in Lockdown Mode in high profile case [pdf]"}]}