MacFormat UK – June 2019

Your Watch has your

data on it, so it’s a good

idea to protect it

macformat.com @macformat

Certain models of Apple Watch

(those with a mobile data plan)

can accept phone calls. If you get

a call on your Watch but want to

take it on your iPhone, accept the

call on your wrist, then swipe

up to swap it over to your

phone. On the other

hand, if you receive

a call on your Watch

but don’t want to

talk to your wrist,

scroll the Digital

Crown to bring up

some options. For

example, you can send

a quick reply to the caller

saying you can’t pick up, or

pass it over to your iPhone.

Find your friends

Having a mobile data plan for

your Watch has other benefits.

For example, there are going to be

times when you want to meet up

with friends but they can’t find you.

Instead of trying to send detailed

texts from your wrist, there is

a much better way. On your Watch,

open the Messages app and select

a message thread. Now, press

firmly on the screen and you’ll get

an option to send your location to

everyone in that conversation.

The Watch has many

ways to help you stay

in touch with loved ones

Phone & text

messages

he Watch tracks your
fitness data and sends
you notifications; it has
access to a lot of your
detailed information. That’s the kind
of stuff that you’re going to want to
keep private. Luckily, Apple is in charge
here, and it has a great track record for
keeping your data under lock and key.
The Watch is no different.
For example, to stop unwanted
people gaining access to your Watch,
you can have it automatically lock
when you’re not wearing it. On the
Watch’s iPhone companion app, Go to
My Watch > Passcode and turn on Wrist
Detection. That way, even if you end
up misplacing your Watch, it won’t be
open to anyone and everyone who
finds it. Disabling Wrist Detection

means your Watch can’t track your
background heart rate (such as resting
and walking rates) or your stand goal
progress, though, so bear that in mind
if you want to turn off this feature.
If your Watch does fall into the

wrong hands, there are

other ways to keep

your data safe and

sound. Multiple failed

passcode attempts can

be a sign that someone

unauthorised is trying to

unlock your Watch. Under

My Watch > Passcode, turn

on Erase Data. This will wipe your

Apple Watch after 10 failed passcode

attempts. Don’t worry – it’s unlikely

you will ever need that many tries to

get in, so there’s little risk of you

accidentally erasing your device.

Keep your data private

Privacy and security features aren’t

just useful if you lose your Watch. If

you’d rather not have the contents of

incoming messages and emails display

on the watch face when you get a

notification, there is a privacy setting

to help. Go to My Watch > Notifications

and turn on Notification Privacy. This

hides the details of your notifications

until you tap on an alert.

Similarly, if you don’t like the idea

of your Watch tracking your heart

rate, steps, calories burned and other

metrics, you can turn them off under

My Watch > Privacy. Note, though, that

your Watch will still track your active

calories, distance, pace and elapsed

exercise time even with this change.

Follow these quick tips and you’ll

get peace of mind while still retaining

the great functionality you need.

Apple has a great

record for keeping

your data safe

Make &

take calls

> Aside from making calls,

a Watch with a mobile plan

can receive text messages

and notifications and even

play live radio, all without

needing your iPhone

to be nearby.

T

JUNE 2019 | MACFORMAT | 67

Forget typing in a lengthy description of

where you are – just tap Send Location.

Notification Privacy keeps the contents of your
notifications hidden until you tap on the alert.