Security updates help patch vulnerabilities in your iPhone that could be exploited by cybercriminals. Downloading those updates as soon as possible helps keep you and your device safe, and Apple made it easy to keep up with updates with Background Security Improvements in iOS 26.1.
«Background Security Improvements delivers lightweight security releases for components such as the Safari browser, WebKit framework stack and other system libraries that benefit from smaller, ongoing security patches between software updates,» Apple wrote online.
This feature reminds me of Apple’s Rapid Security Responses the company introduced in 2023. The RSR updates were a way for the company to quickly deploy security fixes to devices, but Apple hasn’t issued an RSR since the release of iOS 16.5.1 (c) in July 2023.
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Here’s how to enable these improvements so they will be installed on your iPhone automatically.
Where to find Security Improvements
1. Tap Settings.
2. Tap Privacy & Security.
3. Tap Background Security Improvements near the bottom of the menu.
4. Tap the toggle next to Automatically Install.
Now your iPhone will download small security updates and install them on your device automatically.
«Background Security Improvements provide additional protection to your iPhone in between software updates,» Apple writes in the feature’s settings. «In rare instances of compatibility issues, these Security Improvements may be temporarily removed and then enhanced in a future software update.»
In a beta version of iOS 26.1, there was a way to manually uninstall these updates in the Background Security Improvements, but it appears Apple removed this option in the general release of iOS 26.1.
For more iOS news, here’s everything you should know about iOS 26.2, the new features that were included in iOS 26.1 and my review of iOS 26. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet.
