how many people actually know their iCloud password by heart in case the iPhone asks for it?

[escargot3]

Well, the last two times I was at the same store were both for battery replacements. One tried to upsell, the other didn't. And the one that didn't knew I wasn't buying so rather than waste time on me, he ended everything by saying he couldn't replace the battery. We both knew it was BS, but that particular store is always busy and he had metrics to meet. I wasn't contributing to that goal.

As a kid, I was often told 'no' for absolutely no justifiable reason, or simply to deny me something I wanted or was promised. My reaction to that was to always get as much info about something as I could, cover all my bases and go in prepared. I also try to solve my own problems through research before getting help. In this way, I minimize someone standing there and denying me. Or I understand why that is. 16 years with Sprint as my carrier also taught me that this should apply to business as well.

If you do things yourself, get things yourself, work around people and things that either try to block you or stop you then it's much harder for that stuff to be taken away or denied to you. So, I go in armed with info whenever I need to deal with a business. And that includes Apple.

But as you mention a lot of people don't. The argument I have found is that they don't have a lot of time. Which they imply to mean that they are too busy. But they aren't. What they really mean is that the thing they want done is not important enough to them to learn about, research and take action on. That's what salespeople, others, etc are for. But if it WAS important to them, they'd do all that. So, it's not about not having enough time - it's about that thing not being a priority, or even important.

Get with a group of average iPhone users and call all of them at the same time so all their phones are ringing at the same time. I'd make a bet that very few of them have actually bothered to change the default Apple ringtone. Why? It's not important to them. How many of them know how to change it? How many even know they can?! And that right there demonstrates the average Apple iDevice user.

We, here on this forum place a bit of importance and priority on Apple related things that are not remotely important to the average Apple user. It's why we are here. And why they are not.

It must be exhausting going through life carrying such a big chip on your shoulder.

 

[eyoungren]

It must be exhausting going through life carrying such a big chip on your shoulder.

I guess I wouldn't know. It's all a part of me since I was about five or so. I can take no for an answer though. If you're either paying me, have a good reason (and explain it to me) or I trust you implicitly. None of which were my parents.

Maybe you need to talk to them?

 

[escargot3]

I'm going to be "that guy" and point out that Apple no longer calls it your "iCloud password", but your "Apple ID password".

Actually this is incorrect. They have ceased calling it “Apple ID password”. It is now called “Apple Account password”. 😉

 

[ultratiem]

I do, and you should. In a sense it's the same as recording the master password for your Dashlane somewhere, ie, don't do that

Yeah this. Your local admin account and your Apple ID (or I guess Apple Account now) are two that you absolutely have to memorize. They are too frequently asked. By all means save them in your manager but you still need to know them both.

 

[fastred]

Yes, I remember mine, though I wouldn't call mine a password...it's a passphrase.

Many people seem to think a strong password is something random like 6rt#kPw^cQ or adding randomness to a word like M@crUM0r5, but then it can be hard to remember the casing or which letters you swapped for numbers for each character. Plus, it's not very long. A password should be at least 14-16 characters.

Instead, use a passphrase. They're easier to remember and can actually be much stronger than a password due to the length. For example, Apple Be My Fav0rite Fruit! will take significantly longer to crack via brute force than the two examples listed above. Length is more important than complexity. This one is 27 characters AND easy to remember!

Obviously, you don't have to do this for every site/account, as it would then get difficult to remember all your different passphrases. I use a password manager (iCloud Passwords) for almost everything else; the passphrase is essentially my master password. I have no idea what most of my other passwords are since they are auto-generated 16+ characters of randomness. I let my password manager fill those in for me when they're needed.

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This is the best advice ever, and should be the standard advice for master passwords (passphrases!) everywhere!

 

[fastred]

I do. Also know my 1Password Master password and Mac password. Everything else is in 1Password.

Another great bit of advice

Thank you!

 

[zapmymac]

Nobody should. It ought to be locked away in a Manager 36 digits long 😬


J/k. I do, as it is passWoRDZ123

 

[Parowdy]

I don't know. I stopped paying attention at some point because everything I described is what I do. Even if it's not required. I just feel that handing a genius a device that is exactly the same as one that is ready to be set up as new makes both our lives easier. And nobody has access to anything because there is nothing on the device.

I thought so too, but last time I had my 15 Pro checked because I had dust in one camera the technician (apple certified service provider) told me it was hindering that reset the phone because he couldn’t immediately get into his analytics tool, apparently.

 

[eyoungren]

I thought so too, but last time I had my 15 Pro checked because I had dust in one camera the technician (apple certified service provider) told me it was hindering that reset the phone because he couldn’t immediately get into his analytics tool, apparently.

Hmmm…I bet it might be something to do with the reset wiping all the logs/analytics data. He probably had to wait for the device to function for a bit before data started to generate.

My guess anyway.

 

[platinumaqua]

Yes, I remember mine, though I wouldn't call mine a password...it's a passphrase.

Many people seem to think a strong password is something random like 6rt#kPw^cQ or adding randomness to a word like M@crUM0r5, but then it can be hard to remember the casing or which letters you swapped for numbers for each character. Plus, it's not very long. A password should be at least 14-16 characters.

Instead, use a passphrase. They're easier to remember and can actually be much stronger than a password due to the length. For example, Apple Be My Fav0rite Fruit! will take significantly longer to crack via brute force than the two examples listed above. Length is more important than complexity. This one is 27 characters AND easy to remember!

Obviously, you don't have to do this for every site/account, as it would then get difficult to remember all your different passphrases. I use a password manager (iCloud Passwords) for almost everything else; the passphrase is essentially my master password. I have no idea what most of my other passwords are since they are auto-generated 16+ characters of randomness. I let my password manager fill those in for me when they're needed.

Password vs. Passphrase: Differences & Which Is Better? | Okta

A common debate in cybersecurity surrounds passphrases vs. passwords. Join Okta in exploring what a passphrase is and why you should use one over a password.

www.okta.com

Password Length vs Complexity: Which Is More Important?

In an online world of various password requirements, is length more important than complexity? Find out and learn how to increase your password security.

www.keepersecurity.com

The old Keychain Access prior to Catalina generates memorable passphrases with two words and random characters in between. Shame that Apple removed that functionality.

I keep an old Mac around to generate passwords now because of that.

 

[platinumaqua]

I do, because there was a time where my devices say my Apple ID is locked and require reentering my password many times within a week.

(It’s a secure and unique password, so definitely not compromised unless Apple got compromised)

 

[ignatius345]

FYI with iOS 17.3, I believe Apple added Stolen Device Protection, a security measure that requires authentication for certain actions so that a spying thief can’t reset your iCloud password with passcode. Not sure if the feature is on by default. I understand your point about not keeping your passwords locked to one password manager without backup, but I don’t understand how using a third party manager instead of Apple’s Keychain is safer. Are third parties not susceptible to hacks and bugs too? Is it because 1Password lets you backup passwords? Can’t you export passwords from Keychain on Mac for backup?

Obviously no system is perfect, but again, if I got locked out of my iCloud account, I'd sure as hell want to be able to get to my passwords quickly.

 

[okkibs]

glaring unlock PIN security hole

Have you used Stolen Device Protection? Seems you haven't. Once you enable it you cannot unlock the passwords app with your passcode. It then shows an error message saying: Face ID is required because Stolen Device Protection is turned. There is no option to skip Face ID anymore which is the whole point of Stolen Device Protection.

And it's your choice if you want this to be enabled only when on the go or everywhere including at home, you can find that in the Face ID settings under Stolen Device Protection. I set it only to enable away from home because if your Face ID hardware fails you would then get locked out completely with absolutely no way to restore access. The only option left would then be to reset the iPhone thus deleting all data stored on it and restoring from a backup if you have one. That is why I recommend to set it to only require Face ID away from home.

 

[Kottu]

I don't know any passwords except my wifi network.

 

[TgeekB]

What’s a password?

 

[Anonymous Freak]

I know three passwords:

Mac password.
iCloud password.
Password manager password.

They are all "complex but easily memorized".

 

[johnsawyercjs]

Actually this is incorrect. They have ceased calling it “Apple ID password”. It is now called “Apple Account password”. 😉

You're right--with the release of iOS and iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, we have a new term to learn. I have to catch up!

What will it be called two years from now?

 

[Populus]

For most people, if you can remember your password, it's not secure.

22 characters has mine, it has a combination of letters and numbers. It’s actually a passphrase. I remember it by heart and I usually only change it every 2 or 3 years.

 

[subjonas]

Obviously no system is perfect, but again, if I got locked out of my iCloud account, I'd sure as hell want to be able to get to my passwords quickly.

But even if you are somehow locked out of iCloud, you can still access your Keychain passwords because they are on device. They’ll just stop syncing any changes until you log back in.

 

[heretiq]

how many people actually know their iCloud password by heart in case the iPhone asks for it?

I've had two battery changes for two iPhones at two different Apple Store recently. They asked me to enter my iCloud password to unlock it before the battery change... not sure why that's even necessary, but I think they always ask for it anyway.

I took my spare phone out to look up my iCloud password. The Genus said something like "oh, how can you not remember it? anybody who uses iPhones ALWAYS know it by heart!" I thought "oh great, so I'm the only person in the world who doesn't remember it?"

Anyway, I got it from my other phone and entered it on the iPhone that was about to get a battery replacement. I just kept wondering if how many people actually know their iCloud password by heart in case the iPhone asks for it? Maybe I'm finally an old geezer who needs memory booster pills... or perhaps have the password tattooed to somewhere on my body, just in case?

I do. It’s a 15+ character passphrase that is personally meaningful, and expressed with alphanumerics, special characters and code substitution for certain segments of the phrase. It’s not entirely random but memorable while requiring deep personal insights and non-public information to crack it.

 

[Beefbowl]

I play a mobile game (NIKKE) where I need to log in with my Apple credentials on their PC client every time I launch it because it doesn’t cache them. I don’t play it every day, but probably 2-3 times a week. So I would have a hard time forgetting it!

 

[Klae17]

Yes and it's 32 characters long.

 

[OSXphoto]

I know mine by heart and it’s complex enough. I tried setting complex but rememberable icloud passwords for my wife and three (near adolescent) children, but whenever they need theirs they look at me in agony.

We’ve seen enough real world examples of online identities stolen. Still thinking you can stay secure with a simple password is just plain silly (“maga2020”).

Many folks don’t realise that spaces can be used, so to make a phrase. Same goes for WiFi passwords. This opens up more possibilities to do it right.

 

[beerseagulls]

Yes and it's 32 characters long.

if I guess it correctly, do I get a cash reward?

"DaCatWeighs8#AndEatsHotDogDai1y" (without the quotes)

 

[ifxf]

One of the reasons I still use a third party password manager and not use a “me” email. By coincidence Apple decided to ask for the password today.