It's not just petty criminals after your iPhone, it might one day also be the feds. And they won't go to Apple, they'll come straight to you. Since the introduction of iOS 8 almost a year ago ...

Here's what you need to know: iOS Apple introduced device encryption with iOS 8 back in 2014. All it takes is a security code or fingerprint to enable it.

Encryption extends to backups of your iPhone made through Apple's own software too, whether that's on the web in iCloud, or in iTunes or Finder on a connected computer.

Here's how to check if your carrier supports the messaging protocol, how to enable it and when Apple could bring end-to-end encryption to the protocol on your iPhone.