Understanding iOS passcode security
Ah, the eternal question: Should you protect your iOS device with a passcode? On one hand, the knowledge that your data is presumably safe from prying eyes makes carrying around your phone and tablet less worrying; on the other, having to tap in a code every time you want to check your email or make a phone call can quickly become annoying.
Apple, for its part, isn’t helping make this choice easier for consumers: Methods for bypassing the passcode screen or circumventing it altogether keep getting discovered, and though the company typically provides patches fairly quickly, these security holes don’t instill confidence in iOS’s ability to keep our data safe.
Besides, passcodes seem inflexible and at times even incompatible with the way we use our devices. I’ve stopped counting the number of people who have asked me why iOS doesn’t use geolocation to automatically engage passcodes when, for example, you leave your house, where you don’t need so much protection. And when you leave your passcode-locked device within reach of a toddler, you can find out rather quickly that Apple's deterrents aren’t exactly designed with curious children in mind.
A look behind the scenes
On the surface, therefore, passcodes act as little more than gatekeepers to your devices—and, therefore, to the data stored on them. Like a watchful security guard, iOS becomes increasingly suspicious when incorrect codes are tapped in, and it requires longer and longer pauses between attempts until, after it counts ten tries, it either locks the device up for good or—depending on your settings—wipes out the data altogether.
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