Indeed, many users have questioned the surprising decision, by Apple, to limit availability of Stolen Device Protection (SDP) to just iPhone. Given the close relationship of iOS/iPadOS, sharing the same code-base, extending this essential protection technology to iPad should be trivial.
Portable computing devices, such as iPad, are equally vulnerable to theft and potential compromise of sensitive, personal and financial data. With the increasing power of iPadOS - now rivalling (and often exceeding) the capabilities of a laptop computer - an iPad is eminently more portable and flexible than a traditional laptop computer.
Thieves are savvy. When presented with the choice of stealing an iPhone or iPad for its data, the iPad is the target every time - as iPad currently lacks the advanced protection afforded by SDP. iPad and iPhone are excellent companion devices for Road Warriors - or for those simply working when away from home or office. Individually or together these devices are a treasure trove of information that can be monetised by Bad Actors.
Many within this user community agree that availability of SDP should be extended to iPad - and potentially to portable Mac computers. Apple does invite submission of comments and feature requests via its Product Feedback portal. If you would like to see availability of SDP being extended to iPadOS, this would be the best channel through which to communicate your request to Apple:
Feedback - iPad - Apple
When submitting feedback to Apple, be aware that you are very unlikely to receive a reply. However, we understand that all feedback is both logged and forwarded to the appropriate engineering teams. With sufficient requests, Apple might reconsider restricting SDP to iPhone devices.
