Erase Data After 10 Failed Attempts
iPhone Device & Theft Protection
Optional
Consider turning on Erase Data if you maintain reliable backups and want stronger protection against repeated physical attempts to unlock your iPhone.
What this setting does
Erase Data automatically removes the information, media, and personal settings on your iPhone after 10 consecutive failed passcode attempts. This can reduce the value of continued physical attempts to gain access to a stolen or seized device.
Important notes
This protection is deliberately destructive. After the iPhone is erased, you must restore it from a backup. If no backup exists, the device must be set up again as new.
Leaving Erase Data off does not mean the iPhone becomes freely accessible after 10 failed attempts. Apple states that the device will instead need to be restored using a computer after the tenth failed passcode attempt.
Because enabling this feature can create a data-availability problem if backups are missing or outdated, Clouds & Keys classifies it as Optional rather than Essential or Recommended.
On iPhones with a Home button, the setting appears under Touch ID & Passcode instead of Face ID & Passcode.