Making sure your data is secure is important, especially on your iPhone. Luckily, changing your passcode is easy to do, and only takes a few steps.
I recently watched a video from the Wall Street Journal about how thieves can ruin your digital life in minutes if they get ahold of your iPhone.
Apple’s iCloud service is a great way to keep your data backed up and synced across your devices, but what happens if you lose access to your iCloud account?
All your data from your iPhone, iPad, and Mac would be inaccessible, and there would be no way to retrieve it. Your iCloud account is essentially your key to accessing all your Apple data, so if it falls into the wrong hands, you could be in serious trouble.
This video is a sobering watch and makes you realize just how important it is to keep your iCloud account safe.
Sidenote: Last summer I created an “In Case of Emergency Document” for my kiddos in the event I died suddenly.
My “in case of emergency” document is a written record containing important information about me, such as banking information, pre-made funeral arrangements, and the location of wills and titles. This allows my loved ones to quickly access important information in the event of my sudden death. While such an event would be traumatic, having this information readily available can help my loved ones make informed decisions.
While I was creating this document, I realized just how much information they could get about me if they had my phone passcode. That made me think.
I created a Just In Case of Emergency document and it is for sale in my Etsy Shop. Click on the link to buy and when you use discount code PROMO you will receive $1 off.
After watching that video, I went ahead and changed all the passcodes on my devices to alphanumeric ones. Here are the steps to change your passcodes:
- Go to Settings
, then do one of the following: - On an iPhone with Face ID: Tap Face ID & Passcode.
- On an iPhone with a Home button: Tap Touch ID & Passcode.
- Tap Change Passcode
- Enter Your Current Passcode
- You can enter a 6-digit code or view options for creating a password, tap Passcode Options, and choose one of the following
- Customer Alphanumeric Code (most secure),
- Custom Numeric Code
- 4-Digit Numeric Code
Follow the prompts after you make your choice of passcode options.