Apple introduced Impersonation Risk Detection in iOS 27 to help protect iPhone users from scams involving people pretending to be banks, government agencies, or trusted individuals. The feature can identify signs of suspicious activity in real time and help supported apps determine whether an action, such as making a payment or changing account security details, could be associated with a scam.

You can enable Impersonation Risk Detection through your iPhone’s Privacy & Security settings. Here’s how to turn it on, manage app access, and understand how the feature protects your privacy.

What is Impersonation Risk Detection on iPhone?

Impersonation Risk Detection is a security feature in iOS 27 that helps identify potential social engineering scams. These scams rely on manipulating victims into willingly transferring money, revealing sensitive information, or changing important account settings.

For example, a scammer might pretend to be a bank employee and pressure you into making a payment. Even if your account has two-factor authentication enabled, traditional security measures may not recognize the deception because you are the one initiating the transaction.

With Impersonation Risk Detection enabled, a compatible app can request a risk assessment when you attempt an action that could be particularly risky during an active scam. The feature returns a risk level that the app can use to decide whether to display a warning, ask you to verify your identity, or introduce a delay.

The feature is available on iPhone with iOS 27 and iPad with iPadOS 27, but it works only with apps that support it.

How to enable Impersonation Risk Detection in iOS 27

Follow these steps to enable the feature on your iPhone.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Privacy & Security.
3. Scroll down and select Impersonation Risk Detection.
4. Turn on Share with App Developers.
5. If prompted, sign in to the App Store with your Apple Account to complete the setup.

Once enabled, supported apps can request a risk assessment when you perform certain actions. You don’t need to activate the feature separately for every compatible app, although you can manage individual apps’ access from the same settings page.

Apple notes that changes to this setting can take up to 24 hours to take effect.

How to manage Impersonation Risk Detection for individual apps

iOS 27 also lets you review which apps have requested risk assessments and manage their access.

To check app activity:

1. Open Settings on your iPhone.
2. Go to Privacy & Security.
3. Tap Impersonation Risk Detection.
4. Review the Recent Activity section to see which apps have requested a risk assessment.
5. Check Reasons for Access to understand which actions prompted those requests.
6. To disable access for an individual app, tap the app and turn off its toggle.

Changes to an individual app’s access can also take up to 24 hours to take effect.

This gives you a way to monitor how compatible apps use the feature without disabling protection for every app on your iPhone.

What do the risk levels mean?

When a supported app requests an assessment, Impersonation Risk Detection returns one of three risk levels:

• Unknown: No evidence of suspicious activity was detected. This does not guarantee that the action is safe.
• Medium: Some signs of suspicious activity were detected.
• High: Significant signs of suspicious activity were detected.

The app receiving the assessment decides how to respond. Depending on its implementation, it might display a warning, request additional verification, or delay the action.

Apple does not determine or control the response taken by the app. Consequently, the experience may differ between supported apps.

Does Impersonation Risk Detection affect your privacy?

Apple designed Impersonation Risk Detection to analyze relevant information on your device rather than sending the underlying data to Apple.

According to Apple, the feature analyzes interaction patterns, timing, context, and basic sensor data to generate a risk level. Apple does not receive the data used to generate that assessment.

The feature also does not analyze the content of your Photos, Messages, or Mail. When an app requests an assessment, it receives the risk level rather than the underlying information used to calculate it.

However, Apple does learn the type of action you attempted in the app when that app requests a risk assessment. You can review which apps requested assessments and the reasons for access in your iPhone’s settings.

A few things to know before using the feature

Impersonation Risk Detection is an additional layer of protection, not a guarantee that every scam will be detected. A risk level of Unknown does not mean an action has been verified as safe, and the feature cannot replace careful verification of suspicious requests.

You should also be cautious if someone instructs you to disable the feature. Apple specifically warns that such a request could indicate that you are being targeted by a scam. Changes to the setting may take up to 24 hours to take effect, providing an additional safeguard against attempts to pressure users into switching off protection immediately.

If you use iOS 27, enabling Impersonation Risk Detection is a useful step toward making supported apps better equipped to identify suspicious activity before you complete sensitive actions.