Apple’s Lockdown Mode support page lists eight categories of iPhone, iPad and Mac behavior that change once the feature is switched on. The page, last published January 23, 2026, still names iOS 16 as the earliest version that carries it, and its text makes no mention of iOS 27.
Apple frames the feature as extreme by design, not as a setting most people should turn on. Its own description: Lockdown Mode is “designed for the very few individuals who, because of who they are or what they do, might be personally targeted by some of the most sophisticated digital threats.”
Key facts on Lockdown Mode
| Item | Apple’s page |
|---|---|
| Document | About Lockdown Mode |
| Support article | support.apple.com/en-us/105120 |
| Last published | January 23, 2026 |
| Minimum versions | iOS 16, iPadOS 16, watchOS 10, macOS Ventura |
| Enhanced protections since | iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, macOS Sonoma |
| Mentions of iOS 27 | None, in the page’s current text |
Eight things Lockdown Mode turns off, in Apple’s own wording
- Messages: most attachment types are blocked other than certain images, video and audio; links and link previews are unavailable.
- Web browsing: complex web technologies are blocked; some websites load more slowly or fail to work; some web fonts and images may not display.
- FaceTime: incoming calls are blocked unless the caller was contacted in the previous 30 days; SharePlay and Live Photos are disabled.
- Apple services: invitations are restricted to people previously contacted; Game Center is disabled.
- Photos: location data is stripped from shared photos; existing shared albums are removed and new invitations are blocked.
- Device connections: an iPhone or iPad must be unlocked before it will connect to an accessory or a computer.
- Network: the device avoids joining non-secure Wi-Fi networks and turns off 2G and 3G cellular connections.
- Management: no configuration profile can be installed, and the device cannot enroll in mobile device management.
The same feature, four different version floors
| Platform | Minimum version | Enhanced protections since |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone | iOS 16 | iOS 17 |
| iPad | iPadOS 16 | iPadOS 17 |
| Apple Watch (paired) | watchOS 10 | watchOS 10, no later change noted |
| Mac | macOS Ventura | macOS Sonoma |
What iOS 27 changes here, per Apple’s own page
As of this weekend, before iOS 27 arrives Monday, September 14, Apple’s Lockdown Mode page has not been updated to name iOS 27 at all. Its most recent cited milestone remains iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, both several releases behind the software shipping Monday. That does not rule out a change once Apple updates the page; it simply means nothing is documented yet.
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Who Apple says should actually turn it on
Apple’s own framing limits Lockdown Mode to a narrow group and does not present it as a general recommendation. The company does not suggest that a device left in its normal state is unsafe; it describes Lockdown Mode as an optional, extreme step for people who believe they face individual targeting, not a baseline setting for typical use.
Apple’s guide to the feature uses almost the same attacker description found on its threat notification page: Lockdown Mode is protection against “a highly sophisticated cyberattack, such as by a private company developing state-sponsored mercenary spyware.” Read next to each other, the two Apple documents describe two different responses to that same category of attacker. Lockdown Mode narrows what a device will do before an attack can succeed; a threat notification tells a specific person afterward that Apple believes one was attempted. Apple’s page does not connect the two by name, and neither document states how often turning on Lockdown Mode has actually prevented an attack it would otherwise have caught.
Apple also spells out a cost to enabling it, rather than presenting it as a free upgrade. Blocked link previews, disabled Game Center, and slower or broken websites are the tradeoffs Apple itself lists for the added protection, which is part of why the company frames Lockdown Mode as extreme rather than as a setting to leave on by default.
What Apple has not said
Apple has not published a version of Lockdown Mode tied to iOS 27, has not stated whether any of the eight restrictions above will change with Monday’s release, and has not said how many people currently use the feature. The page also does not cross-reference Apple’s September 9 event, where the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo were introduced, or Apple Watch, which carries its own version floor above.
As of Sunday, September 13, 2026, Lockdown Mode’s support page is unchanged since January. Anyone who wants to check whether it applies to a specific app or accessory can review the eight categories above against Apple’s own page before installing iOS 27, watchOS 27 or macOS 27 Golden Gate on Monday.
