YOU’LL use your iPhone to create and log into accounts all the time – but are you staying safe?
Here are four tips to make sure your iPhone password security is as strong as possible.
Password generator
We’re constantly told to choose complicated passwords – but that’s difficult with so many accounts.
iCloud Keychain remembers the passwords you type on your phone, encrypts them, and stores them in the cloud.
So you can choose very strong passwords without having to remember them – your phone will simply enter them for you at log in.
This is one of the best defences against hackers.
“iCloud Keychain remembers things so that you don’t have to,” Apple explains.
“It auto-fills your information – like your Safari usernames and passwords, credit cards, Wi-Fi networks and social log-ins – on any device that you approve.
“iCloud Keychain stores your passwords and credit card information in such a way that Apple cannot read or access them.”
And the Safari web browser now has a special feature called Strong Passwords.
When you sign up to a service on Safari, you’ll get an option to use an auto-generated password that’s very difficult for hackers to crack.
This password is automatically saved in your iCloud Keychain so you don’t even have to remember it.
Password storage
You can also create your own passwords manually, and then add them to the iCloud Keychain.
So if you’re not happy with an Apple password (or you’re creating an account on a non-Apple device), you can very easily add it on your iPhone later.
Simply navigate into the Passwords folder in your iPhone settings and then add an account.
And then you can save it and the login details will appear next time you go to sign in on that website.
Complicated passwords
If you’re using the password storage method, you’ll need to come up with strong login credentials.
First, check a list of the most common passwords to make sure you’re not falling foul of any simple rules.
Avoid choosing single words, family names, cities, sports teams or anything else that might be easily guessed.
Longer passwords are significantly harder to crack, as well as logins with numbers, symbols, and some capital letters.
If a password is too hard to remember, add it to your password manager.
Two-factor verification
Strong passwords can be a great defence, but they could still be stolen – or guessed, if you’re very unlucky.
So try not to rely on a password alone.
Many popular apps and websites offer something called two-factor verification.
This means someone logging in to your account has to use a password and some additional piece of information.
Usually this is a special code sent to you via text or email.
But some apps will even let you generate codes using a physical authenticator that you can carry around on a keychain.
If there is an option for two-factor verification, always enable it.
This will block hackers from accessing your account even if they know your password.
