Most of us carry a smartphone, laptop or tablet at all times storing huge amounts of information. Social contacts, private communications, photos and personal documents are just a few examples of things we store on our digital devices. Because we store and transport so much data, it can be difficult to keep it safe, especially since devices can easily be lost or stolen.

Your device could be seized while out and about or stolen from your home and copied in seconds. Unfortunately, locking the device with a password, PIN or gestures may not fully protect your data. An adversary can get around these device locks because the data is stored in an easily readable format within the device. They only need to directly access the storage space to copy or examine your data without your password.

Here are some ways to protect your devices, making it difficult for those who want to physically steal your data:

Encrypt your information

Add an additional layer of protection by encrypting your device. Encryption is a process that converts data into a code, making it difficult to read. Most smartphones and computers offer complete disk encryption as an option.

With encryption, the adversary must have both the device and your password to decrypt the data. It's much safer to encrypt your entire device, not just some folders. Once you encrypt your entire device, you'll need a numeric pin or password to decrypt it each time you power up. The only way into the device is with the encryption key, keeping your data safe, even if lost or stolen.

Remember: whatever device you use, encryption is only as good as your password. A thief has all the time in the world to break your password. Make sure to create a strong and memorable one.

For smartphones and tablets

Android devices offer full disk encryption when you set up the device for the first time. Follow the instructions for your particular model. Select a strong password here, otherwise it defeats the purpose of encryption.

Apple’s iPhone and iPad describe it as "data protection." Once you've set a passcode, scroll down to the bottom of the passcode settings page. You should see a message that says “Data protection is enabled." This means that the device's encryption is now tied to your passcode and that most data on your phone will need that code to unlock it.

For computers
Windows Vista or later includes a full disk encryption feature called BitLocker. Enable BitLocker full disk encryption to help prevent unauthorized access to your information.

Apple provides a built-in full disk encryption feature on macOS called FileVault. Enable FileVault full disk encryption to help prevent unauthorized access to your information.

Unix/Linux usually offer comprehensive disk encryption when setting up the system for the first time. Follow the instructions for your particular Unix/Linux operation.