Passwords and the iPhone
Ever since I started using an iPhone, entering passwords has been a major annoyance. Since the built-in browser has no option for remembering passwords, I have to re-enter every single password for every website I use way too often.
This makes me wonder whether or not this influences the choices people make when selecting new passwords. I’ve always used random password generators; the only concession I usually make when selecting a random password is a quick check whether it’s easy to type. But if I want a password that’s easy to type on an iPhone, I end up using only lowercase letters; that just isn’t a step I’m willing to make.
The obvious solution would be a decent password manager on the phone; but that would still leave some security and usability questions. To make this easy to use, I’d prefer having a master password that needs to be entered periodically; but that is an obvious security risk if your phone is stolen.
So here are some questions for you:
- Do you select passwords that are easier to enter on the iPhone?
- Do you use a password manager?
- How would you like Apple to handle storing passwords in the next OS version?
April 15th, 2009 at 4:31 am
You bring up a great point about one of the biggest short comings of the iPhone. I use 1Password on the Mac to remember all my passwords, and as such I use really long, hard to guess passwords. I used to use KeePassX, but like the browser integration of 1Password.
I have personally not used shorter passwords just to make it easier on the iPhone, but I can see the temptation. 1Password for the iPhone offers a “sorta solution”, but it is not as smooth as the Desktop version.
I would like to see more access to add plugins to the browser, just as you can do on the desktop version of Safari. I don’t think I would want password manager syncing. There are some passwords I would prefer only stay on my desktop–even if they are encrypted.