Your iPhone Has a New Way to Spot Scams
Your iPhone has a new security feature designed to recognize signs of scams before you make a payment or change sensitive account information. Learn how Apple's Impersonation Risk Detection works, where to turn it on, and why it could provide another layer of protection.
By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor
October 29, 2026
Imagine receiving an urgent phone call from someone claiming to represent your bank. They know your name, sound professional, and insist that someone is trying to steal your money.
Their solution? Transfer your savings immediately to a supposedly secure account.
You open your banking app and prepare to send the money. Everything looks legitimate, except for one important detail: The caller is a scammer.
Traditional security features might not catch this situation because you're the person authorizing the transaction.
Apple is addressing this problem with Impersonation Risk Detection, a security feature introduced in iOS 27 and iPadOS 27.
The feature helps participating apps recognize suspicious activity associated with scams, potentially giving you an opportunity to reconsider before making a costly mistake.
Here's a Cool Tip: Enable Impersonation Risk Detection to help supported apps recognize suspicious activity before you complete sensitive transactions.
What Is Impersonation Risk Detection?
Impersonation Risk Detection is designed to identify warning signs associated with social engineering scams.
Social engineering occurs when criminals manipulate people into revealing information, transferring money, or changing account settings.
Instead of breaking into your account, a scammer might convince you to use your legitimate credentials to perform an action that benefits them.
That's why these scams can be especially difficult to detect. Even two-factor authentication may not help when the account owner has been tricked into approving the transaction.
Apple's feature takes a different approach.
When you perform a sensitive action in a participating third-party app, such as making a payment or changing your password, the app can request a risk assessment.
Your iPhone analyzes certain device activity and contextual information. Apple combines an on-device assessment with Apple Account-related information to generate a risk level.
The app receives one of three results:
Risk Level | What It Means
No suspicious activity was detected, but the action is not necessarily safe.
Some signs of suspicious activity were detected.
Significant signs of suspicious activity were detected.
The app then decides how to respond.
For example, it might display a warning, request additional identity verification, or temporarily delay an action.
Apple does not control the app's response, and the feature does not automatically block fraudulent transactions.
It also does not function as a general-purpose scam-call detector.
Instead, it gives participating apps additional information to help protect you when a potentially risky action occurs.
What You'll Gain
- Extra Scam Protection: Help supported apps recognize potentially suspicious account activity.
- Safer Transactions: Give participating financial apps another opportunity to evaluate risky payments.
- Privacy Controls: Choose whether apps can receive risk assessments.
- Greater Transparency: Review which apps request assessments and the reasons for those requests.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here's how to do it.
For iPhone and iPad running iOS 27 or iPadOS 27 or later:
- Open Settings.
- Select Privacy & Security, scroll down, and tap Impersonation Risk Detection.
- Turn on Share with App Developers. You may need to sign in to the App Store with your Apple Account.
Participating apps can now request risk assessments when you perform certain sensitive actions.
You do not need to open Impersonation Risk Detection each time you make a payment.
Review Which Apps Use the Feature
You can also manage access for individual apps.
- Return to Settings > Privacy & Security > Impersonation Risk Detection.
- Under Recent Activity, review apps that have requested risk assessments.
- Check Reasons for Access to see which actions prompted the requests.
- To disable access for a particular app, tap the app and turn off its toggle.
Cool Notes:
- Changes to the main setting or individual app permissions may take up to 24 hours to take effect.
- Apple uses this possible delay to make it harder for scammers to pressure someone into immediately disabling their protection.
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fig. 1 - Enable Impersonation Risk Detection |
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Addresses a Real Threat: Helps detect situations where scammers manipulate people into authorizing legitimate account actions.
- Works During Sensitive Activities: Participating apps can request assessments when users make payments or change important account information.
- Protects Underlying Information: Apps receive a risk level rather than the raw device information used to generate it.
- Offers Individual App Controls: Users can review requests and manage access.
Cons:
- Requires Developer Support: Apps must implement the feature before they can use it.
- Cannot Guarantee Protection: A scam might still succeed even when the feature is enabled.
- Requires iOS 27 or iPadOS 27: Older operating systems do not support it.
- Responses Vary: Each participating app decides how to act on the risk information.
Who Should Skip This?
Most eligible iPhone and iPad users who regularly access financial or other sensitive accounts could benefit from enabling this feature.
However, users who prefer not to share risk assessments with third-party apps can leave it disabled.
You may also see little immediate benefit if none of your frequently used apps supports Impersonation Risk Detection.
The feature is optional, and disabling it does not remove your device's other security protections.
Privacy and Data Notes
Impersonation Risk Detection evaluates information such as interaction patterns, timing, context, and basic sensor data.
The underlying device information is analyzed locally on your iPhone.
An on-device assessment, rather than the raw device information, is sent to Apple and combined with relevant Apple Account information to generate the risk signals.
The feature does not analyze the contents of your Photos, Messages, or Mail.
You can turn off sharing at any time through the feature's Settings screen, although changes may take up to 24 hours to take effect.
Troubleshooting and Limitations
Problem: Impersonation Risk Detection is missing from Settings.
- Why it happens: Your device may not be running iOS 27 or iPadOS 27 or later.
- Fix: Open Settings > General > About to check your software version. Then visit Settings > General > Software Update to check for an available update.
Problem: No apps appear under Recent Activity.
- Why it happens: You may not have used a participating app that requested an assessment.
- Fix: Confirm that Share with App Developers is enabled. Apple has not provided a comprehensive list of participating apps in its referenced documentation.
Problem: I enabled the feature but never see warnings.
- Why it happens: Not every app supports the feature, and participating developers determine how to use risk assessments.
- Fix: Continue using normal scam precautions. The absence of a warning does not mean a transaction is safe.
Problem: My settings change is not immediately effective.
- Why it happens: Apple may delay permission changes for security reasons.
- Fix: Allow up to 24 hours for the change to take effect.
Problem: Someone tells me to disable Impersonation Risk Detection.
- Why it happens: A scammer may be attempting to remove an additional security measure.
- Fix: Stop the conversation and independently contact the organization through a trusted phone number, website, or app.
- Impersonation Risk Detection is available beginning with iOS 27 and iPadOS 27.
- It works only with third-party apps that have implemented support for the feature.
- No subscription required.
- Installing iOS 27 or iPadOS 27 does not guarantee that your banking, payment, or other apps will use the feature.
Score
Criterion | Score (0–10) | Justification
Targets social engineering scams that can bypass traditional account protections by manipulating legitimate users.
Easy to enable and manage, but its practical usefulness depends on participating apps.
Provides a clever way to evaluate the circumstances surrounding sensitive account actions.
A promising security feature that addresses an important fraud problem, although widespread usefulness depends on developer adoption.
Unlike two-factor authentication, which helps verify that an account action is authorized, Impersonation Risk Detection helps participating apps assess whether the circumstances surrounding that action appear suspicious.
Key Takeaways
Impersonation Risk Detection gives participating iPhone and iPad apps another way to recognize potentially fraudulent activity during sensitive transactions and account changes.
It's easy to enable, provides privacy controls, and addresses an important weakness in traditional account security: scammers who persuade people to authorize actions against their own interests.
While it cannot eliminate fraud, it could provide a valuable additional warning when one matters most.
Cool Tip Snapshot
- Feature Name: Impersonation Risk Detection
- Platform(s): iPhone (iOS 27), iPad (iPadOS 27)
- Quick Benefit: Helps supported apps recognize potential social engineering scams.
- Best For: Banking, payments, account security, and fraud prevention
- Access Type: Free built-in feature, requires participating third-party apps
- Difficulty: Easy
Learn More
Apple explains how Impersonation Risk Detection works, how to enable it, and what information is used to assess suspicious activity.
You can also find detailed instructions in the official iPhone User Guide.
Try It Yourself
Running iOS 27?
Open Settings and check whether Impersonation Risk Detection is enabled on your iPhone.
It's a simple way to offer participating apps another layer of scam protection.
Have you noticed this setting yet?
Share your experience in the comments, subscribe to the One Cool Tip newsletter, and pass this Cool Tip along to family, friends, and coworkers who could benefit from added protection against scams.
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Rodger Mansfield, a seasoned technology expert and editor of OneCoolTip.com, transforms complex tech into practical advice for everyday users. His Cool Tips empower readers to stay productive, secure, and one step ahead in the digital world.
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