Here's how a new iPhone feature could solve thorny theft issues and keep your data safe

• Apple has designed new protections designed to deter iPhone thieves and keep your data safe.
• The protections kick in if the phone is in an unfamiliar location, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Apple is introducing a security feature designed to stop thieves from wreaking havoc by accessing your personal data.

The Wall Street Journal and other publications reported the news.

Earlier this year, an investigation by the Journal found that criminals were stealing thousands of dollars by watching users enter their passcodes before stealing their phones.

Once they had the device and passcode, thieves could switch on the recovery key or generate a new one if it had already been activated, the Journal reported. They could then lock the user out of all of their accounts and get access to saved payment information.

Activating the recovery key, a randomly generated 28-character code, turns off "account recovery," meaning you can't get back into your Apple ID account.

Though it's designed as a security feature, if you lose access to the code, you could be permanently locked out of everything linked to your account, Apple says on its website.

The tech giant advises users to keep a copy of the key with a family member or to keep multiple copies.

Reyhan Ayas, an iPhone owner, previously told Business Insider that minutes after her phone was stolen by a man outside a Manhattan bar, she was locked out of her Apple account and had $10,000 taken from her bank account. She believed he'd seen her enter her iPhone passcode.

Apple's new feature, Stolen Device Protection, could help deter this kind of financial theft.

The phone's location is central to how the feature works.

If you want to change passwords or update security settings when your phone is not in a recognized location, like your home or workplace, biometric information will be required, the Journal reported.

As an additional layer of security, the changes will only be confirmed once you enter your biometric information a second time, after an hour-long delay.

There will be no hour delay if you are making changes to accounts from your home.

"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," an Apple spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch.

The list of actions protected by the new system includes:

• Changing your Apple ID password

• Enabling recovery key,

• Changing trusted phone number or contact

• Adding and removing Face ID or Touch ID

• Disabling Find my Phone

• Turning off Stolen Device Protection.

For now, the new feature is not widely available to Apple users. It's first being rolled out to members of Apple's beta software program in the iOS 17.3 update, which began rolling out to developers on Tuesday. The beta group will test the update and provide feedback.

Apple did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside of normal working hours.