Apple released iOS 17.6.1 on Wednesday, a day after the tech giant released the third public beta of iOS 18 to developers and public beta testers. This update doesn't bring any new features to your iPhone, but it does address an issue with an iCloud security feature called Advanced Data Protection.
To download the update, go to Settings > General > Software Update, tap Update Now and follow the onscreen prompts.
Here's what you need to know about the update.
What's in iOS 17.6.1?
Apple wrote in the update's release notes that the update addresses some bugs, but more importantly a security issue with Advanced Data Protection. According to Apple, the update fixes an issue that prevents you from enabling or disabling the security feature.
Advanced Data Protection is the highest level of cloud data security Apple offers. Apple said it protects most of your iCloud data, including your iCloud backups, photos and more, with end-to-end encryption.
According to IBM, end-to-end encryption is a secure communication process that prevents third parties from accessing whatever data is sent from one person to another. In the context of Apple, that means even if data from your iCloud account falls into nefarious hands, the other party wouldn't be able to access it.
Is this the last iOS 17 update?
There might be more minor iOS 17 updates, but Apple is set to release iOS 18 in the fall. While we don't have an exact release date for iOS 18, historically Apple releases major iOS versions in September. I wouldn't expect any more significant iOS 17 updates, though.
For more on iOS, here's what was included in iOS 17.6, my hands-on experience with the iOS 18 betas and our iOS 18 cheat sheet.
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