{"id":79809,"date":"2026-01-16T07:29:51","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T10:29:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/why-iphone-users-should-update-and-restart-their-devices-now\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T07:29:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T10:29:51","slug":"why-iphone-users-should-update-and-restart-their-devices-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/why-iphone-users-should-update-and-restart-their-devices-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Why iPhone users should update and restart their devices now"},"content":{"rendered":"


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If you were still questioning whether iOS 26+ is for you, now is the time to make that call. <\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

On December 12, 2025, Apple patched two WebKit zero\u2011day vulnerabilities linked to mercenary spyware and is now effectively pushing iPhone 11 and newer users toward iOS 26+, because that\u2019s where the fixes and new memory protections live. These vulnerabilities were primarily used in highly targeted attacks, but such campaigns are likely to expand over time.<\/p>\n

WebKit powers the Safari browser and many other iOS applications, so it\u2019s a big attack surface to leave exposed and isn\u2019t limited to \u201crisky\u201d behavior. These vulnerabilities allowed an attacker to execute arbitrary code on a device after exploitation via malicious web content.<\/p>\n

Apple has confirmed that attackers are already exploiting these vulnerabilities in the wild, making installation of the update a high\u2011priority security task for every user. Campaigns that start with diplomats, journalists, or executives often lead to tooling and exploits leaking or being repurposed, so \u201cI\u2019m not a target\u201d is not a viable safety strategy.\u200b<\/p>\n

Due to public resistance to new features like Liquid Glass, many iPhone users have not yet upgraded to iOS 26.2. Reports<\/a> suggest adoption of iOS 26 has been unusually slow. As of January 2026, only about 4.6% of active iPhones are on iOS 26.2, and roughly 16% are on any<\/em> version of iOS 26, leaving the vast majority on older releases such as iOS 18. <\/p>\n

However, Apple only ships these fixes and newer protections, such as Memory Integrity Enforcement, on iOS 26+ for supported devices. Users on older, unsupported devices won\u2019t be able to access these protections at all.<\/p>\n

Another important factor in the upgrade cycle is restarting the device. What many people don\u2019t realize is that when you restart your device, any memory-resident malware is flushed\u2014unless it has somehow gained persistence, in which case it will return. High-end spyware tools tend to avoid leaving traces needed for persistence and often rely on users not restarting their devices.<\/p>\n

Upgrading requires a restart, which makes this a win-win: you get the latest protections, and any memory-resident malware is flushed at the same time.<\/p>\n

For iOS and iPadOS users, you can check if you\u2019re using the latest software version, go to Settings<\/strong> > General<\/strong> > Software Update<\/strong>. It\u2019s also worth turning on Automatic Updates<\/strong> if you haven\u2019t already. You can do that on the same screen.<\/p>\n

How to stay safe<\/h2>\n

The most important fix\u2014however painful you may find it\u2014is to upgrade to iOS 26.2. Not doing means missing an accumulating list of security fixes, leaving your device vulnerable to more and more newly found vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n

\u00a0But here are some other useful tips:<\/p>\n