How to use AVG Mobile Security for iOS

AVG Mobile Security is a security app for iOS designed to protect your privacy online, securely store your photos, scan Wi-Fi networks for vulnerabilities, and alert you if any of your personal data linked to your email address has been leaked online.

After installing AVG Mobile Security, the app scans your Wi-Fi network and prompts you to resolve any detected issues. Refer to the sections in this article for instructions on using AVG Mobile Security.

If you have a paid subscription for AVG Mobile Security, ensure you have activated your subscription to be able to follow along in all of the sections below.

Run a Smart Scan

When you open AVG Mobile Security, you have the option to run a Smart Scan, which checks your device for any potential threats. To start the scan:

Open AVG Mobile Security and tap Run Smart Scan on the main AVG Mobile Security screen.
Follow the on-screen instructions to resolve any issues found or tap Skip to do this later.

For detailed instructions on how to solve the found issues, refer to the sections below.

You may require a paid subscription to resolve some of the issues, such as turning on AVG Mobile Security VPN.

Use Scam Guardian

Scam Guardian is one of the main feature of AVG Mobile Security. It provides users with the following tools to recognize and avoid online threats, improving digital security:

Web Guard: This tool scans internet activity in real time to prevent malware from downloading onto devices and help you avoid suspicious websites. A local VPN (Virtual Private Network) is required to enable this feature.
SMS Guard: A scam protection tool that scans text messages in your default messaging app to help detect potentially risky links or scam content, with optional AI-powered detection.
Call Guard: Automatically blocks suspicious and scam calls, and helps you identify whether incoming calls are from trusted contacts, businesses, or potentially risky sources.

To learn about how to set up and use these features, refer to the following article: AVG Mobile Security for iOS - Scam Guardian Pro.

Enable VPN Secure Connection

Using VPN Secure Connection requires one of the following subscriptions:

AVG Mobile Security Ultimate for iOS
AVG Secure VPN for iOS
AVG Secure VPN Multi-Device

For information on activating a paid subscription, refer to the following article: Activating an AVG Mobile Security Premium subscription on iOS.

AVG Mobile Security VPN uses Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology to create an encrypted, private connection, helping protect the data you send and receive over the internet and keeping your online activity private. To activate AVG Mobile Security VPN:

Open AVG Mobile Security and tap Explore ▸ VPN Secure Connection.
Tap Allow, then tap Allow again to add VPN Configurations.
Tap the red (OFF) slider so that it changes to green (ON).

AVG Mobile Security VPN is now active.

Connect to another server

By default, AVG Mobile Security VPN connects to the fastest available server. You can also choose a specific server location. Some locations allow you to select a specific city. To connect to another server:

Tap the location selector at the bottom of the VPN screen.
Use the search box or browse the list to find a location. Optionally, tap ••• next to a location to select a specific city.

Manage Auto Connect rules

Auto Connect automatically turns on the VPN when you connect to an unsecured network. To configure Auto Connect:

Tap Settings (the gear icon) at the top-right corner of the VPN screen.
Tap Auto Connect.
Choose between the following options:
- Never: AVG Mobile Security VPN will never Auto Connect.
- Unsecured Wi-Fi: AVG Mobile Security VPN will always Auto Connect on non-Private Networks.
Optionally, to add a Private Network, ensure that Unsecured Wi-Fi option is enabled, then tap Private Networks ▸ + (the plus icon) to add the current network to the list of Private Networks.

AVG Mobile Security VPN will not auto-connect while you are connected to a Private Network.

Activate Hack Alerts

Hack Alerts helps to keep your online accounts safe by seeking to ensure none of the passwords linked to your email address have been leaked online. If a leak is found, Hack Alerts immediately notifies you and prompts you to change the password that was compromised. To activate Hack Alerts:

Open AVG Mobile Security and tap Explore ▸ Hack Alerts.
Tap Next twice.
Enter your email address, then tap Scan breaches.
Once the scan is finished, tap Monotor for breaches ▸ OK. If any compromised accounts are detected, you can tap an account to view more details.
Open your email inbox and locate the email from notification@mails.avg.com with the subject: Please verify your email. Tap the Verify my email button.
In the AVG Mobile Security app, select your email address and tap Already verified.

Hack Alerts is now active and continuously checks for new data breaches involving this email address. Free users are only able to monitor one email address at a time. Paid users are able to monitor 5. To add another email address, open Hack Alerts, tap Scan for new email, then follow the instructions above, starting at step 4.

To remove an email address, open Hack Alerts tile, then select your email address, and tap ⋮ ▸ Stop monitoring email.

Securing compromised accounts

If Hack Alerts finds any breaches related to your email address, it lists all involved accounts under Compromised accounts list. We recommend you immediately change the passwords for all accounts listed under Compromised accounts:

Tap a breached account on your Unresolved list.
Tap Change password to follow the on-screen instructions to change the account's password. When done, tap Mark as resolved.

Use Photo Vault

If you uninstall AVG Mobile Security on iOS, any photos you have stored in the Photo Vault will be deleted along with the app and there is no option to restore them. We recommend exporting your files from Photo Vault before uninstalling the app.

Photo Vault helps protect your photos and images from prying eyes by moving them to a passcode-protected, encrypted vault on your device. Up to 40 photos or images from your device or camera can be added to the vault. With an AVG Mobile Security Premium subscription you can store an unlimited number of photos or images in Photo Vault. To set up Photo Vault:

Open AVG Mobile Security and tap Explore ▸ Photo Vault.
Tap Next twice, then tap Enable photo vault.
Create a four digit access code that you will use to sign in to your Photo Vault. Type it twice to confirm.

Your passcode is set. Now every time you open Photo Vault you are prompted to enter your passcode to gain access to the vault.

Add photos to Photo Vault

You can add existing images to your Photo Vault from the Photo Library on your device, or use the camera on your device to take a photo and import it directly into your Photo Vault. To add images to Photo Vault:

Tap Add photos.
Select either Photo Library or Camera:

Tap Allow to give AVG Mobile Security permission to access your camera.
Take a photo, then tap Retake or Use Photo and tap OK.

To give AVG Mobile Security permission to access your Photo Library, tap either Limit Access... or Allow Full Access to give AVG Mobile Security permission to access your photos.
Tap a photo to select it, then tap Import. Optionally, in the pop-up that appears, tap Delete to remove the photo from your photo library.

Your photo is imported into Photo Vault.

Manage files in Photo Vault

To export or delete files from Photo Vault:

Open Photo Vault and tap Select.
Tap the photo(s) you want to share or remove from the vault. A green border appears around the selected photo(s). Tap the relevant option:
- Share icon: Send the selected file(s) to another location, for example via AirDrop, email, or message.
- Trash icon: Permanently remove the file(s) from Photo Vault.

Change your Photo Vault passcode

Open AVG Mobile Security and tap Account.
Tap Help and support ▸ Photo Vault ▸ Change access code.
Enter your current passcode, then enter a new 4-digit passcode twice to confirm it.