Usually, the iPhone and other Apple products are devices that have excellent security features. Things like the passcode and the more recent addition of facial ID technology means that in most circumstances, your Apple device should be secure regardless of the situation in which you use it. But if you’ve noticed that there’s something wrong with your iPhone, then you might be wondering whether it’s likely that it has picked up a virus somewhere. Is it possible to get a virus on your iPhone? That is the question that we will answer in this article.
Getting a Virus on Your iPhone is Extremely Unlikely
As it relates to this particular concern, we have some good news for you: it’s exceedingly unlikely for your iPhone to get infected with a virus. It’s not impossible, but realistically, there have been almost no iPhone viruses or ones that can penetrate other iOS devices that have been released on the internet. The ones that have been created and demonstrated to be effective were devised by academic researchers or security professionals. This was for the purpose of research rather than anything harmful.
Why Don’t iPhones and Other Apple Products Get Viruses Very Often?
Viruses, if you’re not entirely familiar with that term when it’s used in this context, are programs intended for malicious purposes. They can take over your computer or steal your data. Their other goal, apart from that, is to spread to other computers. For that to happen with your iPhone, first, the virus must be installed on your phone. Next, it must be able to run. Finally, it would have to communicate with other programs to control them or take their data.
The architecture of the iOS system is actually quite ingenious in that it prevents this chain reaction from happening. Apple-designed its signature operating system so that every app would run in its own designated space. iOS apps can communicate with each other, but only in a very limited way. This is not by accident. Apple designers were keenly aware of how viruses work, and they set up this system even in the more rudimentary versions of the iPhone. Your device getting attacked by one would almost be an impossibility.
Apple Checks iPhone Apps to Protect You From Viruses
There’s one more factor to consider here, as well. Unless you jailbreak your phone, you can only install apps that are approved and purchased through the App Store. That means viruses cannot establish themselves. Before making a new app available through the App Store, Apple evaluates it in detail. They check to see that it contains no viruses, and if anything looks suspicious, they’ll inform the designer that it hasn’t been approved.
This is just one of the actions that Apple takes behind the scenes which have made their devices as popular as they’ve been. Heightened security measures that they have implemented over the past two decades are part of the reason that so many people feel safe about buying Apple products and storing their most sensitive personal information on them. You probably wouldn’t keep your credit card numbers, contact lists, photos, etc. on a device that was in any danger of contracting a virus.
Are There Ways that iPhone Virus Risks Increase?
However, there is still one way that your iPhone can catch a virus, so let’s examine that for a moment. The viruses that can successfully penetrate Apple’s defenses are worms that can attack your device if it has been jailbroken. Jailbreaking refers to when you or someone else has altered the programming of your device so that it can run non-Apple approved apps, and other programs as well. There are software programs that will effectively jailbreak a phone, and it is something that some individuals like to do.
You will notice that when you look in the App Store, there isn’t any antivirus software designed specifically for the iOS system or Apple devices. That is because none is needed. If you jailbreak your phone, though, you open yourself up to worms that can plunder your personal information.
This emphasizes how foolish of an idea it is to jailbreak your phone. It might be appealing because of the modifications you can make, but it will void any warranty that you have, and it will open you up to viruses in a way that would never be the case unless you take this action. If you’re thinking about jailbreaking your iPhone, it is best to reconsider.
Any of the major antivirus companies, such as Trend Micro, McAfee, and Symantec, don’t have antivirus tools for iPhones, but they do have security apps. Those apps focus on things like protecting your privacy, securing your web browsing, and backing up your data. As long as you don’t jailbreak your phone, those are the only threats about which you will ever have to worry.
If Your iPhone is Acting Up, Does It Have a Virus?
But wait a minute, you might say. My iPhone isn’t performing as it should be. Some of the apps may not be working correctly. You might not be getting notifications, or there might be any one of a number of other problems. Doesn’t that mean there could be a virus?
As we already explained, because of the way the phone is set up, a virus probably isn’t what you’ve encountered. Yes, things can go wrong with an iPhone sometimes, but a software bug is often what is at fault, or it could be a hardware problem. An app issue might mean that a new version needs to be downloaded, or it could be that the entire app needs to be deleted and then installed again in extreme situations.
As far as other software and hardware issues go, right here on the website there are several articles that can help you, depending on what particular problem you are facing. An adjustment might be necessary, but you can be reasonably sure that a virus is not to blame.
What About if You Jailbroke Your iPhone Already?
Maybe you already decided to go ahead and jailbreak your iPhone. It is certainly your prerogative if you’d like to do that. If your iPhone is acting up in that instance, then it could be that you have a virus.
If you do, then there are still going to be some options for you. You can delete any apps that you suspect might have been carrying the virus. You can restore the iPhone from a backup that you know is not infected. You can do it either through iTunes or iCloud. As a last resort, you could back up the phone, then restore it to the original factory settings. That should eradicate any virus that you’ve picked up, and hopefully, it has not done any permanent damage.
If you refrain from jailbreaking your iPhone, then you should be living virus-free. Until some hacker can invent an entirely new species of virus that can get past Apple’s innovative security setup, you can rest easy in this regard.
