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Apple’s iPhone has a passcode problem — if thieves can get their thieving hands on both, they can thief you of your whole, entire digital life in a matter of minutes. That’s according to Joanna Stern’s reporting at the Wall Street Journal.

TL;DW: If you go to crowded places like a bar, and type in your passcode obviously or frequently enough, big bads can see it, even record it. Then, if they can also swiper-most-definitely-yes-swiping your phone as well, they can use your passcode to reset the Apple ID password, ripping away your ability to Find-My it, and your access to your other Apple devices, and then promptly start spelunking through your apps and bookmarks for more.

🔗 Joanna Stern at WSJ:    • Apple’s iPhone Passcode Problem: Thie...  

🔥 Data Protection — The Ugly Truth:    • Apple Data Protection — The ugly truth  

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That includes any apps or sites where your passcode can let the built-in Keychain password manager auto-fill access, including those with SMS-based 2-factor authentication — because they have the phone and will get that SMS.

Which could include banking and credit and cash and crypto apps, but also photos you might have taken of your drivers license, passport, and other documents, financial details and work product you might have mailed or messaged, and sexts and nudes, and any and everything else that could potentially lead to identity theft, blackmail, or other life and soul-crushing consequences down the line.

Now, wait, stop, hold-on. I don’t want to scare or sensationalize any of this for anyone. It’s absolutely a legitimate potential harm, but so is crossing the street, and that means the important thing here, the key to anything and everything like this, is… awareness.

Which is why I want to take a minute to really break it all down and go over it with you.

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