We’re living in a dynamic moment in terms of technology. Even the criminals have become more tech-savvy and are using innovative ways to steal your sensitive data, identity, and/or money, or simply to infect your device with malware that will render it useless.
iPhone users may be at a lower risk from these threats than PC users, but they’re not entirely safe from them. Considering how many sensitive operations are nowadays handled on our iPhones, taking the necessary precautions in the form of a good antivirus is a wise strategy.
Not all security apps are made equal, so let’s look at some that are worthy of your attention.
The best iPhone antivirus software available
Avast Security & Privacy
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Free version with advanced features | Row 0 - Cell 1 |
| Superior Wi-Fi security | Row 1 - Cell 1 |
| Photo vault | Row 2 - Cell 1 |
Avast has a host of powerful security products for various platforms and iOS is no exception. Its iPhone app - Avast Security & Privacy - is available for free, although some ultra-advanced features are still reserved for its premium version.
For instance, scanning for threats and vulnerabilities, malicious website blocking, Wi-Fi security, and privacy tips are free. You also get Identity Protection for one account, as well as a Photo Vault that stores 40 of your photos in a secret, encrypted folder, protecting them from overly curious individuals by PIN, Face ID, or Touch ID. Since the June update, you can import multiple photos into the library.
If you pay for the premium version, Identity Protection is available for all your accounts and the Photo Vault can hold all of your photos, not just 40. The premium version will also provide you with VPN protection which will encrypt your Internet traffic on any network, even an unsecured one.
Unsure about whether you’ll like it? No worries, there’s a 14-day free trial period if you take a yearly subscription and a 7-day period if you go for the monthly subscription. Do note that you’ll have to cancel the subscription before the trial ends unless you want to proceed with paying for the whole thing.
Avira Mobile Security
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Free security | Row 0 - Cell 1 |
| Can backup your contacts | Row 1 - Cell 1 |
| Comes with a free VPN | Row 2 - Cell 1 |
You can be certain that Avira Mobile Security has got your back as it is the product of an award-winning security company with more than 30 years of experience in protecting our devices.
To protect your iPhone, it offers only the best - a free VPN to keep your Internet activities hidden and your data safe, Identity Safeguard to check if your email has been leaked, Web Protection against infected websites, and anti-theft Phone Locator and siren that alerts everyone near your phone that it has been stolen by the person holding it.
And it doesn’t even stop there. You can create a Blacklist of phone numbers whose calls you don’t want to take, as well as blocking spam and unwanted texts. Additionally, US and Canadian users can use the scam calls blocker feature. The app can scan for all devices connected to your Wi-Fi and it allows you to back up and restore your contacts to email, Google Drive, or Dropbox.
Furthermore, its Device Analyser feature lets you keep control over your iPhone’s usage of memory and storage, so you can optimise its performance.
Lookout
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Measures against identity and phone theft | Row 0 - Cell 1 |
| In-depth security tools | Row 1 - Cell 1 |
| Several tiers of protection | Row 2 - Cell 1 |
Lookout keeps your iPhone safe by using multiple levels of deep protection, depending on which version you’ve chosen. Lookout Basic includes a System Advisor that alerts you of out-of-date software on your device, as well as missing device tools such as Theft Alerts, Locate & Scream, and even Signal Flare to alert anyone around the thief about the situation. In addition, the ID Scan feature can determine if users' emails have been involved in any known data breaches and can suggest courses of action if they were.
For a small fee, Lookout Premium will get you secure browsing, Safe Wi-Fi, and reports of any breach affecting a company, app, or service you use, along with advice on how to best mitigate the consequences.
The US-only Lookout Premium Plus is a bit more expensive but includes all of the above, plus identity theft protection with Cyber Watch, SSN (social security number) Watch, Social Media Watch, Identity Restoration and Theft Insurance, and even the Lost Wallet Recovery tools.
McAfee Mobile Security
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Plenty of totally free tools | Has ads |
| Even more features if you pay | Row 1 - Cell 1 |
| Secret media vault | Row 2 - Cell 1 |
McAfee Mobile Security lists all the usual suspects that a solid iPhone antivirus should have to maintain your privacy and security in the face of outside threats. These entail superior System Security Scan capabilities, Contacts Backup, and secure Media Vault which automatically encrypts your photo sessions and can be opened with a secure PIN, Face ID, or Touch ID.
The Anti-Theft Protection includes a GPS tracker that can locate your phone from anywhere in the world, a remote alarm you can trigger from your Apple Watch, remote wiping of your iDevice, as well as capturing a photo of the thief and emailing it to you.
Additionally, secure Wi-Fi scanning is there to enable safe browsing on every network and alert you if there are any security problems.
All these options are completely free but if you pay for the premium Standard plan, you’ll also get a safe web feature, that protects you against malicious and phishing websites or ARP spoofing. The other, more expensive premium Plus plan, will get you the Unlimited Wi-Fi Guard VPN, plus all the features from the Standard tier.
Both premium plans remove the annoying ads that the free version has and offer a 7-day free trial.
Trend Micro Mobile Security
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| More features than some | Slightly expensive |
| Has its own browser | Row 1 - Cell 1 |
| Cell-tower device location | Row 2 - Cell 1 |
Trend Micro Mobile Security offers website filtering for Safari and other browsers. It also blocks ads and trackers to maintain your privacy, increase loading speeds, and reduce data usage, all through its Content Block features.
Speaking of browsers, this antivirus platform has its own, called SafeSurfing. This browser lets you be certain your browsing history is not being tracked or recorded, malicious websites aren’t loaded, and mature content is blocked from your children’s eyes.
Your incoming texts are scanned for suspicious links and isolated into a junk folder if suspicion is confirmed. To make sure your phone is configured for optimum protection, just check the Device Access Status. Also, there is a scam message reporting function.
Thanks to the Social Network Privacy feature, this iOS app can also scan the privacy settings of your Twitter and Facebook accounts and warn you of any identified issues. As is usual in the industry, this antivirus software also features its own anti-theft measures which allow you to locate your missing iPhone using Wi-Fi, GPS, or even cell towers.
Trend Micro Mobile Security isn’t free, but there’s a free trial during which you can see if you like what it has to offer.
F-Secure SAFE
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Simple and intuitive app | Modest anti-theft features |
| Advanced parental controls with time limits | Row 1 - Cell 1 |
| Multi-language support | Row 2 - Cell 1 |
The iOS version of F-Secure SAFE offers all the usual protective mechanisms and then some. The app provides the usual website filtering preventing you from accessing potentially malicious websites. There's also a built-in AdBlocker.
Through its Banking Protection tool, every website you visit is scanned to see whether it’s one of the ‘trusted’ places for online banking or shopping. As an extra measure, your connection is scanned to check if it’s secure, as well.
Your device will be kept safe from theft with the help of Finder features that include an alarm and device locator, although not much else (like remote wiping or locking, flare, and so on).
Furthermore, your young ones can be kept safe from unwelcome content thanks to the SAFE’s system of parental controls that filters content by category, eliminates dubious websites from search results and even lets you enforce browsing time limitations. That said, these limits don’t limit the use of other browsers or apps. You can, however, restrict these by disabling them in the device’s settings.
Barracuda CloudGen Access
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| It’s completely free | No scanning or antivirus capabilities |
| Constantly improves its platform | Row 1 - Cell 1 |
| Doesn’t exhaust your battery | Row 2 - Cell 1 |
Barracuda CloudGen Access (former Fyde Mobile Security & Access) isn’t your typical antivirus app but it’s a worthy companion to your iPhone security, especially since it’s available for free. The best part? It won’t reduce your battery life unlike some other security and privacy solutions.
Once you set up the app, you’ll have unlimited, continuous, and real-time protection against unsafe Wi-Fi networks, fake and malicious websites. Barracuda makes this possible thanks to gathering global attack data from millions of Barracuda users - totally anonymous, of course.
The provider also promises to never collect, store, or sell your personal information, nor that any of your identifying information is ever seen by Barracuda staff or anyone else, providing that extra reassurance many will appreciate.
