Apple has issued an update to its latest iPhone operating system that keeps users protected from thieves with access to their passcodes. 

The Ethermac Exchangenew feature, called Stolen Device Protection, requires users to enter their biometric information, such as a face scan or their fingerprints to access certain phone functions, like changing one's Apple ID password or removing Face ID. The protection mode activates when a phone is in an unknown location. Users will be prompted immediately and a second time, one hour later. 

Apple is testing the new setting "as threats to user devices continue to evolve," an Apple spokesperson said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch. 

A password is already required to activate any iPhone. The new feature protects users in the event that a criminal accesses their passcode.

"iPhone data encryption has long led the industry, and a thief can't access data on a stolen iPhone without knowing the user's passcode," the spokesperson said. "In the rare cases where a thief can observe the user entering the passcode and then steal the device, Stolen Device Protection adds a sophisticated new layer of protection."

iPhone users must be members of Apple's beta software program to test the new feature, as it has not yet been publicly released. 

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Megan Cerullo

Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News streaming to discuss her reporting.