5 Best iOS Antivirus Apps [2022]: Secure All iPhones & iPads

Apple’s iOS won’t allow security applications to perform “virus scanners”. The iPhone and iPad don’t require traditional antivirus.

Does this mean iOS is immune to all threats?

Absolutely not!

Apple’s iOS system is extremely secure. Every iOS app runs in its “sandbox” which protects the app from major system damage. Viral threats are only one form of internet security risk.

These are the top iOS antiviruses that protect against

• Network hackers.
• FAKE WEBSITES.
• Spyware.
• Adware.
• Telephone theft.
• …and much more.

I tested top internet security and antivirus apps from the App Shop. Only a few of these protected against the above-mentioned threats. Some are protected against even more.

Quick summary of the best iOS antivirus apps for 2022:

• 1.🥇 McAfee — #1 iPhone and iPad antivirus app in 2022.
• 2.🥈 Norton — Advanced web protection with excellent Wi-Fi scanner.
• 3.🥉 Avira — Good free plan with great privacy protections and a secure VPN.
• 4. TotalAV — Simple and secure antivirus for beginner users.
• 5. Kaspersky — Feature-rich security app (with a really fast VPN).
• Bonus. Trend Micro — Decent security for iOS devices.

🥇1. McAfee Mobile Security – Best Antivirus for iPhones + iPads

McAfee Mobile Security, my favorite iOS anti-theft software in 2022, combines great web protections with top-notch anti-theft tools to ensure iOS users are safe online and offline.

McAfee performed admirably during my testing — unlike most competitors, McAfee never drained my battery or slowed down my iPhone or iPad. McAfee was very easy to use. The dashboard is simple and easy to navigate.

McAfee comes with the following:

• Anti-theft protection.
• Anti-phishing monitor.
• VPN (with unlimited Data).
• WiFi network scanner.
• Secure media vault.

McAfee offers the best anti-theft protections on the marketplace. Have a low battery? McAfee sends you an email with the last location to be detected before your battery goes dead. Stolen phone? McAfee automatically photos thieves trying to unlock the phone. A very loudalarm can be triggered remotely. Phone unretrievable? McAfee allows remote data wiping, so you can at most know that your private items are safe from thieves.

McAfee has excellent web protections. My tests revealed that almost every phishing site was detected by the phishing scanner, even those sites Safari and Chrome didn’t flag as being unsafe.

McAfee’s VPN is great too. It can protect you from hackers when you surf the web on unsecure Wi-Fi hotspots.

McAfee Mobile Security costs only $1 per device. If you have multiple devices to protect, McAfee Total Protection will provide excellent protection for all of them.

Bottom Line

McAfee has an excellent app that protects iPhones and iPads both online and offline. McAfee web protections are great. The antiphishing protection is superior to most competitors. The VPN is fast, secure, and can access many streaming sites. McAfee Mobile Security offers great protection for one iPhone or iPad. The Total Protection plan gives you protection for multiple devices with a very affordable 1-year and 2-year subscription.

McAfee Antivirus 2022

Name: Review McAfee Antivirus 2022

Description: McAfee subscriptions could be purchased via a PayPal or credit card. McAfee subscriptions are available with a 30-day money back guarantee. You can try all the features, and you won't be obligated to a substandard product.

Offer price: $39.99 to Up

Currency: USD

Operating System: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS

Application Category: McAfee Antivirus - Brand Review

Author: Best Antivirus

• Security
  (4)
• Features
  (3.5)
• Ease of use
  (4)
• Customer Support
  (4.5)
• Pricing
  (4)

Overall

4

Summary

McAfee’s performance is good most of the time, according to independent tests. MRG Effitas has not certified Avira or this virus for certification in Q2 2020. They do have more than just average results.

McAfee is a must-have on this list. Although it is important, it is not the best antivirus software.

Pros

• All plans support majort platforms
• Generous device limits
• Basic package is feature-rich
• Solid firewall
• Home Network Security feature is a godsend

Cons

• Some independent test results are poor
• Performance could be better
• Apple products have fewer features

🥈2. Norton Mobile Security — Best iOS Web Protections

Norton Mobile Security is a simple security app for iOS devices. It has everything you need to keep your device safe online.

Norton offers the following iOS security features.

• HTML protection Detects malicious websites and phishing in emails, browsers, apps, texts, and text messages.
• WiFi scanner — Alerts you if you connect to an unsafe Wi-Fi network.
• Device safety — Notifies when your operating software is out of date.

Norton’s Web Protection is a great option. It was able to catch phishing websites that Safari and other iPhone antiviruses were unable to detect during my testing. Norton’s WiFi scanner is great too. It provides security ratings for public WiFi networks and actively monitors them for security threats.

Norton Mobile Security, an iOS security program that is easy to use and can be used on up 3 iOS devices, is a great choice. Norton 360 Deluxe, which offers coverage for 5 devices and excellent parental controls, provides unlimited browsing data, password management, and covers multiple devices (PCs, Macs, Androids).

Bottom line:

Norton has an excellent security application for iOS users. While it does not offer web protection or WI-Fi monitors, they are the best on the marketplace. Norton also offers excellent parental controls as well as unlimited data VPN and a password manager for iOS users. Norton 360 Deluxe also includes these features, as well as coverage for up five devices on all operating platforms and a risk free 60-day money back guarantee.

Norton Antivirus 2022

Name: Review Norton Antivirus

Description: Norton Antivirus Plus works for both Windows and Mac. Norton Antivirus Plus is an excellent choice if you have only one device. It is not cheap because you can only install it on one device. Bitdefender Internet Security comes with more features. It can also be installed on three computers (not just a Mac). It is cheaper than Norton Antivirus Plus. However, it costs less per device.

Offer price: €15.00 or $19.99

Currency: USD, EUR

Operating System: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS

Application Category: Norton Antivirus - Brand Review

Author: Best Antivirus

[ More ]

• Security
  (4.5)
• Features
  (4)
• Ease of use
  (4.5)
• Customer Support
  (4)
• Pricing
  (4)

Overall

4.2

Summary

Norton Antivirus Plus gives you great protection on one Mac or one PC. It also offers web protection, antimalware as well as password management. This is an excellent choice if you are looking to protect just one device while you go about your daily business. Bitdefender Internet Security may be a better choice, but it costs more per device.

Norton 360, the most comprehensive Norton antivirus suite, is the jewel in Norton’s crown. The 2022 most comprehensive antivirus suite includes unlimited VPN, parental checks (unlimited), dark Web monitoring, dark-web monitor, webcam protection, and privacy monitoring. The best thing is that it is far cheaper than other comparable solutions.

Pros

• All-round protection
• Extra features
• User-friendly interface
• Minimal resource usage
• Identity-theft protection

Cons

• Doesn’t include a free version
• Quite expensive

• Norton for Windows
• Norton for macOS
• Norton for Android
• Norton for iOS

🥉3. Avira Free Mobile Security for iOS – Best Free Antivirus for iOS

Avira’s free iOS mobile security software includes excellent privacy protections, which will protect your personal data.

Avira’s Privacy Manager was a standout feature. This uses a specially crafted downloadable “iOS Profile”, to block Apple from saving Siri conversations.

Avira also provides additional iOS security protections including:

• Anti-theft.
• VPN.
• Photo Clean-up.
• Call blocker.
• Breach monitor – Proonly
• Anti-phishing (Pro only).

Avira’s anti theft protections are excellent. I was able, during my tests to locate my iPhone and wipe my data. I was also able lock my iPhone and trigger an alarm using Avira’s online dashboard.

Avira VPN is my favorite VPN. It’s fast and secure, which allows me to stream video securely without experiencing any speed drops. Avira offers a free VPN service with 100MB per day.

Avira Mobile Security Pro offers unlimited browsing data and anti-phishing protections. It also monitors data breaches to add an additional layer of security online. Avira Prime, Avira’s best-value internet protection package, comes with this app. This includes coverage for up to 5 devices on all platforms.

Bottom Line:

Avira offers an excellent free plan to iOS users

It provides anti-theft protection as well as 100 MB per day of VPN usage, spam call filtering and device clean up tools. Avira’s premium Mobile Security Pro provides more essential features like phishing prevention, unlimited data VPN, and automatic data breaches monitoring. Avira Prime includes this plan and covers up 5 devices. The 30-day risk-free money-back guarantee is included.

Avira Antivirus

Name: Review Avira Antivirus

Description: Avira stands out from other antiviruses thanks to its system optimization tools. You can optimize your system to speed up booting or to concentrate the resources on one task such as video rendering. It even includes crypto mining functions, which allows you to make money while your computer is offline. It is important to keep in mind that not all features can be used on macOS as well as Windows. Mail protection and download scanning are only available for Windows users.

Offer price: $45.99 to Up

Currency: USD

Operating System: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS

Application Category: Avira - Brand Review

Author: Best Antivirus

[ More ]

• Security
  (4)
• Features
  (4)
• Ease of use
  (4.5)
• Customer Support
  (4)
• Pricing
  (4.5)

Overall

4.2

Summary

I was pleased to see outstanding scores from independent test laboratories. Avira Internet Security scored the maximum 6 points on performance, protection and usability tests by AV–Test in October 2021.

AVComparatives has also shown impressive results with tests that were conducted in September and Oct 2021. Experts claim that it has blocked 99.2%of cyber threats. It is rated highly in terms of performance and features for malware protection.

Avira Antivirus is a great security product that has a good price/quality ratio and produces great results.

Pros

• Feature-rich free version
• Compatible with all major platforms
• Offers 30-day money-back guarantee
• Real-time protection
• Features to protect online browsing
• Includes VPN services

Cons

• Some features are only available on Windows
• Can’t protect more than 5 devices
• Free version limits VPN usage
• Browser extension is needed to use all of its features

• Avira for Windows
• Avira for macOS
• Avira for Android
• Avira for iOS

4. TotalAV Mobile Security — Intuitive + Easy-to-Use iPhone Antivirus

TotalAV Mobile Security – A decent iOS mobile app with an easy to use user interface – It’s a good choice for beginners and non-tech-savvy users who want an iOS antivirus which is both simple and useful with a few extras.

• Anti-phishing.
• VPN (with unlimited Data).
• Device tracking.
• Photo Clean-up.
• Dark breach monitoring.

TotalAV’s antiphishing defense performed pretty well in my standard tests. But, it did not detect some of the phishing sites that Norton or McAfee had blocked.

TotalAV’s VPN however impressed me. I had encrypted access to various servers around the world. It allowed me to view HD video on many streaming platforms with no noticeable speed loss.

TotalAV Mobile Security can protect your iPhone against hackers and other internet-based threats. TotalAV’s website protection is also available as a bundle with TotalAV internet security packages. These packages cover up to 6 devices.

Bottom line

TotalAV can be used by non-technical iOS users. It offers a user-friendly dashboard, excellent VPN and helpful extras such anti-phishing and photo storage cleanup. TotalAV Mobile Security comes with PC, Mac and Android security protection. TotalAV’s internet safety suites cover up 6 devices and offer a 30-day refund guarantee.

TotalAV

Name: Review TotalAV

Description: The tool won't hurt your pocketbook. Premium plans are affordable. It's not as expensive than most of its competition, which is always an advantage for the end user.

Offer price: Free to $239.99

Currency: USD

Operating System: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux

Application Category: TotalAV - Brand Review

Author: Best Antivirus

[ More ]

• Security
  (4)
• Features
  (4)
• Ease of use
  (3.5)
• Customer Support
  (4)
• Pricing
  (4)

Overall

3.9

Summary

TotalAV is an effective, yet simple, addition that you can add to your system. TotalAV will not only remove any online germs you might have gotten while surfing the Internet, but it also won’t overwhelm your device. This antivirus is recommended for anyone who needs to be protected online and offline.

Pros

• Good protection against most cyberthreats
• Intuitive apps
• A basic free version
• Fast customer support response times
• Real-time and cloud protection
• Includes optimisation tools

Cons

• Only covers six devices
• The browser extension isn’t particularly user friendly
• Safe Search doesn’t always work

• TotalAV for Windows
• TotalAV for macOS
• TotalAV for Android
• TotalAV for iOS

5. Kaspersky Security Cloud & VPN — Good iOS Security Features (with Fast VPN)

Kaspersky Security Cloud VPN offers many security protections for iOS – from the essentials like anti-phishing and parental controls to the more complex ones like VPN.

Kaspersky has a lot of great protections. However, I was less impressed with its anti-phishing tools. These missed more potentially dangerous sites than any other apps on the list. Chrome’s and Safaris built-in protections detected more phishing sites during my testing than Kaspersky.

Kaspersky’s iOS-specific features are great, however.

• VPN.
• Password manger.
• Parental control.
• Data breach monitoring.

Kaspersky VPN is an excellent VPN. It offers encrypted internet access with servers located in more than 25 different countries. It also has very high connection speeds.

Kaspersky’s parental controls have always been a favorite of mine, especially the geofencing feature that allows parents to receive alerts when their children are in danger.

Kaspersky Security Cloud is available to purchase as an annual subscription.

Bottom Line

Kaspersky packs tons of security features in a single iOS app. However I believe the anti-phishing protection could be improved. Kaspersky Security Cloud offers coverage for one iOS device. Premium internet security packages from Kaspersky offer coverage for up to ten devices.

Kaspersky Antivirus 2022

Name: Review Kaspersky Antivirus

Description: Kaspersky Internet Security on Windows and Mac is an excellent, "set-and-forget it" security product. Bitdefender Internet Security costs slightly less and supports Windows only. Which one is right depends on your individual situation.

Offer price: $29.99 to up

Currency: USD

Operating System: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS

Application Category: Kaspersky Antivirus - Brand Review

Author: Best Antivirus

[ More ]

• Security
  (4)
• Features
  (3.5)
• Ease of use
  (4)
• Customer Support
  (4.5)
• Pricing
  (4)

Overall

4

Summary

Kaspersky has outstanding security software.

Kaspersky Internet Security for the low and mid-ends is an excellent, “set & forget” antivirus system. It is clearly superior to Kaspersky Anti-Virus Basic.

Kaspersky Total Security provides a powerful password manager at the top. We recommend upgrading to this product as it will significantly improve your cybersecurity.

Pros

• Excellent malware protection
• Great independent organization test scores
• User-friendly interface
• 24/7 customer support options
• Has a basic free version

Cons

• Lower brand trust
• Quite expensive
• Password manager only in expensive plans

• Kaspersky for Windows
• Kaspersky for macOS
• Kaspersky for Android
• Kaspersky for iOS

Bonus: Trend Micro Mobile Security – Good iOS Anti-Phishing Protection

Trendmicro Mobile Security offers strong web protections on iOS devices. This includes some good anti-phishing and security tools.

Trend Micro caught more phishing sites than other top-ranked competitors, such as McAfee & Norton in my testing.

Trend Micro’s WiFi scanner is another favorite. It scans all devices that are connected to a network.

Trend Micro’s iMessage Protector is another cool feature. This automatically places all iMessages containing links to suspicious sites into a junk directory.

However, I was not impressed by Trend Micro’s parental controls. They do provide some content filtering. However, Trend Micro’s parental controls are not as effective as Apple’s.

Trend Micro Mobile Security offers an annual subscription that can be used on a single device. It is also available in combination with Trend Micro’s Premium Security and Maximum Security plans.

Bottom line:

Trendmicro provides decent iOS security Protection — the Wi-Fi scanner as well as anti-phishing are both very good. McAfee and Norton, on the other hand, offer more features for less money. Trend Micro’s premium web security suites, however, are quite good — and they offer a 30-day money back guarantee.

Trend Micro

Name: Review Trend Micro

Description: Trend Micro Premium Security package is the best and most affordable plan. It costs $59.95 per year and protects up 10 devices.

Offer price: $19.95 to Up

Currency: USD

Operating System: Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, iOS

Application Category: Trend Micro - Brand Review

Author: Best Antivirus

[ More ]

• Security
  (4)
• Features
  (3.5)
• Ease of use
  (4)
• Customer Support
  (4)
• Pricing
  (3.5)

Overall

3.8

Summary

Trend Micro is a solid service for antivirus. The malware detection rate for Trend Micro is lower than average, and it performs well in almost all other areas. Unfortunately, it doesn’t allow simultaneous scans. Fortunately, the scanning is quick .

Pros

• Strong protection against online threats
• Real-time protection
• 30-day free trial
• Great desktop app
• All plans allow up to 10 devices

Cons

• No Windows webcam protection
• Limited licensing options
• No built-in firewall

• Trend Micro for Windows
• Trend Micro for macOS
• Trend Micro for Android
• Trend Micro for iOS

Comparison of the Best Antivirus Apps for iOS

How I Rated the Best Antivirus for iOS in 2022:

• Security. The biggest threats to iOS users come from web-based threats, such as browser trackers, phishing sites and unprotected Wi Fi network. I tested every product’s antiphishing protections. Tracker blocking features, VPNs and Wi -Fi scanners against latest online threats.
• Device security. iOS devices are the most commonly stolen piece of hardware. I reviewed each product’s security features, giving extra points to those with remote data and alarm capabilities.
• Ease-of-use Apple products are well known for their intuitive interfaces. Therefore, an antivirus for iOS must be simple to use. All of these apps were easy to integrate with iOS’s ecosystem.
• Value. I compared the security features on each product to find the best price for internet security apps.

Top Brands That Didn’t Make the Cut:

• Lookout. Lookout is an iOS security app with excellent anti-theft protections. It also has anti-phishing, identity theft monitoring, and advanced anti-theft protections. But, you can get better protection with the other apps in this list.
• PhoneGuard. This app offers a free VPN service that encrypts personal and private information, as well as photos. It’s an excellent iOS free app. But, it’s less secure than other products.
• Avast. Avast was implicated in a scandal in which they sold data from millions users to corporations.

Why can’t I see my iOS antivirus scanning my files for viruses?

The simple reason why your iOS security app doesn’t scan for viruses is that iOS cannot get viruses.

Internet security apps on iOS protect iPhones, iPads from internet-based threats. They are not like virus scanners. McAfee is an example of a company that offers anti-phishing protection. They also offer Wi-Fi network scanners, secure VPNs for private browsing, monitoring data breaches, parental controls, and Wi-Fi security apps.

Do I need to pay for an iOS antivirus if there are so many free apps?

Some iOS antiviruses offer decent protection free of charge, but you can only get premium protection if the price is paid. Avira is my favourite iOS antivirus. However, Avira’s free plan doesn’t include anti-phishing protection nor unlimited VPN.

The best premium iOS security app cost just a few bucks per month. This will save you from dealing with free antivirus that has limited functionality, irritating ads, and apps which spy on and steal your data (such Avast and AVG).

Will antivirus software drain my iPhone’s battery?

iOS security software can affect your battery life just as other applications that are running in background. McAfee and Norton are low-resource software and won’t significantly drain your battery.

Do antiviruses for iOS include parental control features?

Yes, some do. McAfee is a brand that offers parental control features to enhance Apple’s existing parental controls.

iOS already offers limits on app use and the ability of blocking “adult content” online. However, parental control features provided by top antivirus apps allow for more fine-tuning.

• Content filters. Create content filters by customizing dozens if categories.
• Geo fencing. Get location alerts in case your child’s device leaves an area that has been predefined.
• Access to device and schedule apps. Usage controls.

You can make sure your kids are safe online with these apps. They can be protected from predators and scammers, have access to content that is appropriate for them, limit their screen-time, monitor their location, and much more.