Lockdown Mode is a new feature that will protect high-profile users from state-sponsored hackers.
Lockdown Mode reduces the number of features that an attacker can access and potentially hack by turning off several features.
It blocks wired connections, prevents new configuration profiles from being installed, and shuts down incoming Apple services requests, among other things.
Researchers will be paid up to $2 million for finding a security flaw in Lockdown Mode.
The announcement comes months after it was revealed that state-sponsored hackers had the ability to hack recent-model iPhones. Even if the victim doesn't click on the link, these attacks can still be successful.
Governments have been calling on the company to address the issue. In March, U.S. lawmakers pressed Apple about attack details, including whether it could detect them.
Most malicious software is designed to make a user give up valuable information such as a password or access to financial accounts, in order to make the hacker rich.
The state-sponsored attacks that Lockdown Mode are targeting are not the same as the ones that use expensive tools to get into the operating system. The attackers can take the user's browsing and communications history and control its microphone and camera.
The Lockdown Mode is for a small group of people who need an extreme level of security. According to The Washington Post, victims of military-grade spy ware include journalists, human rights activists and business executives. A French minister and the leaders of the Catalonian independence movement are said to have been targeted by a piece of computer software.
Ivan Krsti, Apple's head of security engineering and architecture, said in a statement that they will work to protect the small number of users who are.
The best-known version of mercenary spyware is the one developed by NSO Group. Researchers at the University of Toronto have discovered and documented versions of this kind of software.
NSO Group's technology is used by governments to fight terrorists.
Apple dislikes NSO Group because it sells its devices as more secure than the competition. Apple filed a lawsuit against NSO Group last year, saying that it damaged the company. The NSO Group is being sued by Facebook's parent company.
One of the strongest measures the U.S. government can take is to blacklist a foreign company.
Most of the 1 billion users of the iPhone won't be targeted. Apple says that the tools are valuable and are only used to target a small group of users. When new versions of spyware are discovered, Apple patches the bugs that they use, making the original exploits useless and forcing vendors like NSO Group to change how their tools work.
Lockdown Mode can be turned on from inside the settings with a single tap. It will also be available for computers.
This week, the new feature will be available for testing on a preview version of the operating system.
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