I've been feeling a bit paranoid about possibly having malware on my iPhone. I know it's pretty rare, but I just want peace of mind. If I do a DFU (Device Firmware Update) restore and then only sync my photos and contacts to iCloud, is there any chance that the malware could survive? I'm using an iPhone 16 with iOS 18.5, in case that matters.
4 Answers
Don't worry, a DFU reset wipes everything, including any malware. There's no way for it to survive that process, especially considering the security of iOS. Plus, there isn’t any widely known malware for your iOS version right now.
You're fine! Malware just can't hang on through a DFU restore. There's really no chance it would survive unless something very unusual happens, but that’s not the case with iOS.
Honestly, I get the paranoia, but remember that you're probably not a target for malware. You might just be overthinking it. Instead of assuming there's malware, try to figure out why you're seeing these data discrepancies.
Just to be clear, no malware can stick around after a DFU reset. And even when you were on iOS 18.3.2, it wouldn’t have been able to survive that process.
Related Questions
How To Get Your Domain Unblocked From Facebook
How To Find A String In a Directory of Files Using Linux