5 Cool iOS 17 Features You Might Have Overlooked

Apple’s iOS 17 operating system is loaded with changes, big and small, and today we want to highlight five useful features you might have missed after installing the software on your iPhone.

iOS 17 doesn’t overhaul the iPhone’s operating system, but it does bring a pretty sizable batch of new features, quality of life updates, and important security upgrades.

While some of these changes are front and center, others are much harder to find. Today we want to highlight a few iOS 17 features you might be unaware of.

Some of these features are simply fun additions, but others might transform how you use certain apps or features on your iPhone. We’ll tell you why they’re useful and we’ll also show you how to use them in this guide.

Auto-Delete Verification Codes

If you have two-factor authentication setup for an app or website, you’ve received those pesky one time verification codes your email or in the Messages app. If you get them enough, they can clog up inbox and messages.

Fortunately, iOS 17 has introduced an easy way to automatically delete these one-time codes once you’ve used them. It’s a great way to keep your clutter under control.

The first time you get one of these codes, Apple will likely ask if you want to enable the feature. We recommend doing so, but there’s also a way to manually turn the feature on, or off, if you’d prefer to do it that way.

1. Open up the Settings app
2. Scroll down to Passwords and tap it
3. If you have Face ID enabled, you’ll need to authenticate to move to the next screen
4. Tap Password Options
5. Under “Verification Codes” you’ll see a Clean Up Automatically option, toggle it on

That’s it. If you decide you want to turn it off, simply toggle it off using the instructions above.

Safari Profiles

If you’re an avid user of Apple’s Safari browser, note that Apple’s added a new feature called Profiles. Profiles will help you separate your browsing for work, personal use, or even school.

If you want to keep your personal browsing separate from the browsing you do at work or school, you’ll want to setup multiple Safari Profiles.

When you create a new Profile, you can give it a name and an icon to differentiate them from each other. Each profile will silo things like History, Favorites, and even Private browsing tabs.

Here’s how you setup a Safari Profile:

1. Open the Settings app
2. Scroll down and tap Safari
3. Scroll down again and under the “Profiles” section tap New Profile
4. Pick a name, icon, and color
5. Choose your settings for Favorites and Open New Tabs
6. Tap Done

After you’ve created a new Profile, iOS 17 will automatically create a “Personal” profile. If you want to switch between “Personal” and any other profiles you create, use the following steps:

1. Open up Safari
2. Tap the Tabs icon in the toolbar
3. Tap the middle icon
4. Tap on Profile to change the active Profile

Note that Safari Profiles are also available in iPadOS if you own an iPad and macOS Sonoma if you own a Mac.

Share Passwords with Family & Friends

If you share an account with a family member, a friend, or a roommate, you’ll be happy to know that Apple’s added a new, and secure, way to share passwords with them.

The feature lets you add Trusted Contacts to a group so you can share passwords and passkeys across devices. You can choose which passwords to share and the person who creates the group has the ability to add or delete members at any time.

This is extremely useful if you share an account to do thing like pay bills or stream content. If you set it up properly, you won’t get texts from your wife or husband about the Netflix password. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open up the Settings app
2. Scroll down and tap Passwords
3. You will see a blue “Get Started” option under Family Passwords or Share Passwords and Passkeys, tap it
4. Choose a Group Name and then add who you want to the group from your Contacts
5. Tap Done
6. Choose passwords and passkeys you want to share with the group and tap Move

Once you’ve done that, you can access these passwords any time via Family Passwords in Settings.

Check In

We’ve all been there. A friend goes home late at night and you ask them to check in when they get back to make sure they made it home safe. Friends have probably asked the same from you.

iOS 17’s got a fantastic feature for night owls, parents, and worrywarts called Check In. Check In automatically notifies a friend that your iPhone has arrived and vice versa.

You can specify what the people tracking you can see if you don’t check in at the end of a trip including battery percentage, cellular signal, location, the route you’ve traveled and the last time you unlocked your iPhone, or removed your Apple Watch if you have one.

Here’s how to setup a Check In

1. Open up the Messages app
2. Find or add the Conversation with a friend or family member
3. Tap the + symbol in the bottom left corner
4. Tap More
5. Tap Check In

Once you’ve done that, you’ll need to select one of two options: When I Arrive or After a timer. It’s incredibly easy to setup and it will give you added peace of mind after a late night out with friends.

Turn Photos into Stickers in Messages

And finally, here’s a fun one. With iOS 17 you can now turn subjects in your photos into Stickers that can be used in your Messages to friends and family. If the subject is pulled from a Live Photo, the sticker will animate.

You can also add a number of effects to enhance the sticker and save any stickers you create for future use in your conversations. Here’s what to do:

1. Open the Photos app
2. Find a photo with the subject you want to use for a Sticker
3. Press and hold on the subject until it ripples and there’s a noticeable outline
4. A popup menu should appear and tap Add Sticker
5. Tap Add Effect if you wish to do so
6. Tap Done

When you want to use the Sticker you created in a conversation, tap the + symbol in the lower left hand corner in the Messages app, tap Stickers, tap your sticker, and press send.

For more about iOS 17 and its features, check out our larger guide. It goes over the top changes in addition to the bug fixes and security patches on board.

Install iOS 17.4.1 for Better Security

> 1 / 16

If security is important to you, think about installing Apple's iOS 17.4.1 update right away. The iOS 17.4.1 update includes two security patches. These patches will help keep your device and its data protected from harm. And that makes iOS 17.4.1 an important upgrade. If you missed iOS 17.4 and older software, you'll get the security patches from updates you missed when you upgrade to iOS 17.4.1. iOS 17.4 had four security patches on board.  The update also delivered quantum security protection for iMessage. The company says the upgrade gives iMessage "the strongest security properties of any at-scale messaging protocol in the world."  The iOS 17.3 update brought 15 new security patches to iPhone. The software also added Stolen Device Protection to iPhone. It increases the security of your iPhone and Apple ID by requiring Face ID or Touch ID to gain access to passwords, make purchases in Safari, and more. This is useful if someone gets access to your iPhone and its passcode.  iOS 17.2 delivered 10 new security patches to iPhone. If you wish to find out more, you can head on over to Apple's security site for the details. iOS 17.2 also included iMessage Contact Key Verification which improves the security of iMessage. The company also fixed an exploit that let the Flipper Zero multi-tool lock up iPhones. iOS 17.1.2 had two security patches on board. Both were related to WebKit. If you want to learn more, you can do so right here. iOS 17.1 brought 18 security fixes to iPhone. It addressed issues within Weather, Status Bar, WebKit, and more.  iOS 17.0.3 brought two patches for two security issues Apple identified within the software. If you want to read about the patches, head here. iOS 17.0.1 delivered three important patches to iPhone. If you're interested in the exact nature of these improvements, you can read about them over on Apple's security website. As for iOS 17 itself, it brought 40+ new security patches with it. A staggering number to say the least. If you want to learn more about them, head over to Apple.  In addition to those patches, iOS 17 brings some additional enhancements to privacy and security including improvements to Communication Safety beyond Messages. It now includes content sent by AirDrop, Contact Posters in the Phone app, FaceTime, and the systemwide photo picker. You now have an option to blur out sensitive photos and videos before you choose to view them. There's also an expanded Lockdown Mode which will help protect you against cyber attacks. Apple's also improved sharing permissions and you now have more control over what you share with the apps on your device.  The company also notes that starting in iOS 17, Voice Memos encrypts the titles of recordings stored in iCloud, in addition to the recordings themselves. If you skipped older versions of iOS, you'll get the security patches from those updates with your iOS 17.4.1 update as well.

> 1 / 16