TSA Warning—Stop Using This Dangerous Setting On Your iPhone

Change this setting now.

AFP via Getty Images

Apple has just updated iPhone and you need to change your settings. You should enable unknown call screening, spam message filtering and digital fingerprint protection. But you should also change one “dangerous” setting that puts you and your phone at risk.

“When you’re at an airport,” America’s Transportation Security Administration warns, “do not plug your phone directly into a USB port.” That same advice applies wherever you are in public. ”Hackers can install malware at USB ports,” TSA says.

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With this in mind, Apple has a new setting option with iOS 26, and you need to change it from its default setting. “Wired Accessories” should be switched from “Automatically Allow When Unlocked” to either “Always Ask” or “Ask for New Accessories.”

So-called juice jacking works by hiding a data connection behind a USB port, so when you think you’re charging you’re actually allowing a connection between your phone and a computer that may be pretending to be an accessory, and which can pull data.

Juice jacking — much like the threat from public WiFi — is more bark than bite. It’s a much-touted warning, especially during the holidays, but with few proven instances outside of highly targeted activity to compromise specific devices.

But the new threat from choicejacking is “the first to bypass existing JuiceJacking mitigations,” the researchers behind the proof of concept say. This proves a phone can be tricked into thinking a wired connection is one thing when it’s another. A keyboard is really a computer interface. This “platform-agnostic attack allows a malicious charger to autonomously spoof user input to enable its own data connection.

Hackread says “the rise of choicejacking reinforces what cybersecurity experts have said for years: public USB ports should not be trusted. Even at airports, hotels, or cafés, a compromised charger could be waiting to hijack your device.”

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While NordVPN‘s Adrianus Warmenhoven (via ZDNet) says “public USB ports should never be treated as safe,” warning that choicejacking is “a dangerous evolution in public charging threats. With a single deceptive prompt, attackers can trick people into enabling data transfer, potentially exposing personal files and other sensitive data.”

It doesn’t matter whether you’re worried or skeptical about juice jacking or Choicejacking. You should change that iPhone setting. There is no good reason to automatically allow wired connections when unlocked. It’s dangerous. Apple provides these settings for a reason, and asking before connecting should be your default.