Apple Begins Reminding Two-Factor Authentication Users About App-Specific Passwords

Apple has begun emailing iCloud users who have enabled two-factor authentication on their Apple IDs, reminding them that application specific passwords will be required when trying to access iCloud data on third party apps starting tomorrow.

Screen Shot 2014-10-08 at 8.13.42 PM
In addition to the email reminders, Apple last week published a new support document educating users on how to use app-specific passwords. While the feature was originally intended to require the feature on October 1, it's unclear why two-factor authentication users are being reminded of it a week later.

App-specific passwords are a new feature Apple introduced in mid-September, following the launch of two-factor authentication for accessing iCloud.com. The changes arrived after a hacking incident that saw the iCloud accounts of several celebrities compromised due to weak passwords.

CEO Tim Cook has promised to improve iCloud security by increasing awareness around Apple's security features like two-factor authentication as well as a sending out email notifications whenever a device is restored, an account is accessed or a password change is attempted.

Popular Stories

Verizon New

Verizon is Down: iPhones Show 'SOS' Mode Due to Network Outage [Resolved]

Wednesday January 14, 2026 10:18 am PST by
Verizon is experiencing a major outage across the U.S. today, with hundreds of thousands of customers reporting issues with the network on the website Downdetector. There are also complaints across Reddit and other social media platforms. iPhone users and others with Verizon service are generally unable to make phone calls, send text messages, or use data over 5G or LTE due to the outage....
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

New Leak Reveals iPhone 18 Pro Display Sizes, Under-Screen Face ID, and More

Wednesday January 14, 2026 7:09 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro models are still around eight months away, a leaker has shared some alleged details about the devices. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo this week, the account Digital Chat Station said the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will have the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes as the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Consistent with previous...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Thursday January 15, 2026 10:56 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another eight months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models, as of January 2026: The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, Macs, and More

Thursday January 15, 2026 11:19 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the United States, according to the company's website. Most of the values declined slightly, but some of the Mac values increased. iPhone ...
maxresdefault

Google Gemini-Powered Siri Will Reportedly Have These 7 New Features

Tuesday January 13, 2026 7:52 pm PST by
Apple and Google this week announced that Gemini will help power a more personalized Siri, and The Information has provided more details. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. As soon as this spring, the report said the revamped version of Siri will be able to… Answer more factual/world knowledge questions in a conversational manner Tell more stories Provide...

Top Rated Comments

nikicampos Avatar
147 months ago
A ridiculous bandaid fix for their apparently weak password reset system. Three security questions, and anyone gets in without a verification email. So you have to bother with this annoying double authentication system. I might as well just make my security answers random codes themselves rather than dealing with this.

I remember Gmail somehow not working properly with third-party mail clients after they messed with their authentication system like this. I was too lazy to negotiate with it and switched to iCloud email as my "anonymous/internet" account.
People complain about eeeeverything!!!!! :rolleyes:
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
droppingbasses Avatar
147 months ago
Had to Quickly Remind Myself...

When I read that email, I immediately though "Dammit that sounds so inconvenient" but I took a few steps back and realized how helpful that will be. I appreciate Apple's multiple levels of security:apple::cool:
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nikicampos Avatar
147 months ago
Yeah, I should. On computers, everything has to work (1 - 10^(-9000))*100% of the time.

Oh kid, welcome to life, if there's something that doesn't work at 100% all the time are computers, you are going to have a bad life thinking computers should work (1 - 10^(-9000))*100% of the time.

Welcome to the real world, you can complain all you want, but technology has it flaws..
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fortysomegeek Avatar
147 months ago
A ridiculous bandaid fix for their apparently weak password reset system. Three security questions, and anyone gets in without a verification email. So you have to bother with this annoying double authentication system to avoid that... or provide bogus security answers. I might as well just make my security answers random codes themselves rather than dealing with this. My first pet was Aahs8y238899_!!3.

I remember Gmail randomly rejecting authentication from third-party mail clients after they messed with their authentication system like this. I was too lazy- er, I mean optimized to try and fix it and switched to iCloud email as my "anonymous/internet" account instead.

This is basically how gmail works because 3rd party apps have no cookie mechanism & challenge follow-up. You need app specific passwords.

Apple's implementation is exactly like Google except you have more trusted device than SMS.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Futurix Avatar
147 months ago
A ridiculous bandaid fix for their apparently weak password reset system.

This is an industry-wide and fairly secure solution, used by the likes of Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JLL Avatar
147 months ago
It's just very unclear who would use app-specific passwords and who wouldn't, how they would be used, and how they would benefit the user.

If you want third party apps to have access to your iCloud account (eg. Outlook), you create a specific password for Outlook to use.

The app does not know your real iCloud password, and you can revoke the app specific password if you want to.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)