Today is World Password Day and if you’re using an iPhone—and most likely you are—you have a lot to celebrate. With Face ID, iCloud Keychain, and encryption all over the place, your passwords are as safe as they can be. But just because you have the tools doesn’t mean you’re using them. Here’s how to lock down whatever you have that requires a password.
Get to know two-factor authentication
If you’ve heard of two-factor authentication but don’t quite understand what it is and why you need it, let us tell you everything you need to know about it. And most importantly, why you need to get it set up on your accounts.
Set up 2FA on your Apple device
Apple is beginning to require two-factor authentication for more and more things—like the AirTag trackers, for instance—but more importantly, it’s just good sense. Here’s how to set up 2FA for your Apple ID and add an important extra level of protection.
Get to know iCloud Keychain
Passwords on your Apple devices go hand in hand with iCloud Keychain, and there’s a lot it can do—even if you’re using Chrome on a PC. Check out how to learn the ins and outs of iCloud Keychain on all of your devices in our guide.
Support a password manager
We here at Macworld are huge proponents of third-party password managers, and there are several excellent options for Apple users. We love 1Password ($3/month), LastPass ($3/month), and Dashlane ($4/month). If you don’t want to commit to a subscription, you can try all three managers for a short time. LastPass offers a free version for a single device, while Dashlane’s free tier caps passwords at 50. 1Password doesn’t offer a free tier, but it’s offering six months free with new signups today.
Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He’s still waiting for that to come back in style tbh.
