Apple may charge a lot for an iPhone, but there’s one particular advantage over Android phones that most people don’t even think about when buying one: Security.

Apple designed the software of the iPhone (iOS) to make it very difficult for malware, including viruses, to penetrate its defenses. That’s a good thing, of course, and it means you don’t really need to install an antivirus app. The same goes for iPads, by the way.

However, before you close this tab and continue your merry way, that’s not the end of the story.

Scammers, cybercriminals – call them what you will – know that it is extremely difficult to write a virus that will compromise your iPhone. They also know that it is much easier to deceive You to hand over your password, credentials, and payment details, which ultimately is what they really want.

And that’s why there are so many SMS scams, fake websites, and dodgy links on social media. They’re getting more and more sophisticated, but modern “antivirus” software can help protect you, even on an iPhone or iPad.

Most of the time, these apps protect you from yourself! For example, do you use the same password and email address to log in to many different websites? Millions do, but it’s a huge security risk. Imagine that just one of these sites was hacked and did not encrypt the passwords of its users. Yours, along with others, would be available to the highest bidder.

What would then happen is something called credential stuffing: trying that combination of email address and password on a bunch of other websites to see if they work.

Since you use the same password, hackers could gain access to your bank account or, failing that, to another site where you have stored your payment information.

Installing a good quality security app on your iPhone can prevent this situation by remembering separate passwords for each of your accounts and automatically entering them each time you need to log in.

Ah, but iPhones do that anyway you say. Yes, but iCloud Keychain will not sync these connections to your Windows laptop or any other non-Apple device you use. And that’s why a cross-platform password manager is so valuable.

Here are some of the other things security apps can do on an iPhone and iPad:

• Warn you about potentially bogus websites that may try to steal sensitive information
• Warn you about dangerous links in messages and emails
• Increase your online privacy by using a VPN
• Protect your identity by quickly notifying you if any of your personal information is found on the dark web (or, indeed, the normal web)
• Protect your photos and videos so only you can access them

It might still be called antivirus software, but even though it won’t block viruses on an iPhone, it’s still a really good idea to use it on yours.

It should be noted that Android phones can If you have both iPhone and Android, you should install an antivirus app on your Android phone as soon as possible. Here are the best antivirus apps for Android.

Most security apps, and certainly the three mentioned here, work on iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, and macOS, so it makes sense to install the same one on all your devices for convenience, as well as because it is always the cheapest way to protect them. Check out our roundup of the best antivirus software for more recommendations.

And if you are worried about apps using your device’s camera or microphone to spy on you, remember that all apps need to ask your permission to access the camera, microphone, your contacts, photos and other things.

So only tap “Allow” when prompted for the first time if you are sure you trust the app. And be sure to carefully read what an app is asking permission for when there is a longer list.

You should also follow the usual security advice that applies no matter what device you’re using: don’t click on links in emails unless you’re sure they’re from a genuine sender , do not give out your bank details or password unless you are absolutely sure it is safe, and use an encrypted messaging service such as WhatsApp and iMessage if you need to share sensitive details like these with a friend or a member of the family.