Overview
- The Metropolitan Police say Apple accesses the National Mobile Phone Register for trade-ins but does not act on theft alerts, a claim Apple disputes.
- Apple points to Find My and Stolen Device Protection as core deterrents and says it rarely receives properly formatted requests to block stolen devices.
- The company says it is considering IMEI blocking for stolen iPhones, while warning this could enable false reports and would not stop devices being stripped for parts.
- More than 80,000 phones were stolen in London in 2024, up from 64,000 in 2023, with police estimating about three-quarters are exported to markets including China, Hong Kong, and Algeria.
- Reports note Apple operates a store-specific kill switch that disables looted demo units, which retailers and carriers say does not extend to devices stolen from their outlets.