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NSA Suggests Turning Off Your Phone Weekly for Security

By Laura Tucker
Nsa Turn Off Phone Security Featured

In years past, there were frequent discussions on how often you should turn your computer off – and whether you needed to at all. Replacing that conversation is how often you should turn your phone off. While battery longevity is always a priority, the NSA suggests you should turn your phone off weekly for security reasons.

NSA Cybersecurity Recommendations

I’ll admit: sometimes I have no idea how long it’s been since I powered off my iPhone. I can say the same for my iPad Pro. I put them to the side while I take care of other things, and that’s it. I used to charge my Apple Watch while I slept. But after it saved me from a cardiac emergency, I like to wear it as much as possible.

The National Security Agency (NSA) is suggesting that I should turn my iPhone off at least once a week as a good security practice to stop cyberthreats.

Nsa Turn Off Phone Security With Flowers And Calendar
Image source: Unsplash

This is something I never thought of. There are many other well-known safety practices for our phones, such as keeping apps updated, not connecting to public networks, not opening attachments, not clicking links, etc. But again, those are well-known, and if cybersecurity is important to you, you’ve most likely already been doing those suggestions.

A report from the NSA shows all of the security measures you can take on your phone, and it includes turning it off and back on weekly. Doing so can help prevent and/or mitigate spearphishing and zero-click exploits. Spearphishing can install malware on your phone, and a zero-click exploit can bring harm to your phone, even if you don’t interact with it at all.

Other Reasons to Turn Your Phone Off Regularly

Security isn’t the only reason to restart your phone regularly. It can also help solve the problem if your phone seems to be running slow. Your phone will reset itself to ground zero, clear out temporary files clogging up your storage space, and optimize your RAM memory.

Nsa Turn Off Phone Security Charging
Image source: Unsplash

In addition, turning off your phone regularly can help resolve network issues and interrupted service. A prolonged battery life is another benefit. And, of course, it can be healthier for you, as staring at a screen all day can be harmful. Staring at it at night, waiting to fall asleep can also be harmful. You need to give your brain and eyes a rest.

Turning your phone off (and on again) has so many benefits, that it really is a good practice. I’m not good at remembering things like that, so I think what I’m going to do is set a reminder for late Friday, after I finish my workweek, and before I head out on my weekend plans, to turn my phone off for a bit.

Image source: Unsplash

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Laura Tucker Avatar
Laura Tucker
Laura has spent more than 20 years writing news, reviews, and op-eds, with the majority of those years as an editor as well. She has exclusively used Apple products for the past 35 years. In addition to writing and editing at MTE, she also runs the site’s sponsored review program.

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