Apple Quietly Added New Passcode Requirement for Touch ID

Apple recently added a new passcode requirement rule for iPhones with Touch ID enabled, according to MacWorld. The new rule requires a user to enter a passcode when an iPhone or iPad has met two conditions: the device has not been unlocked via a passcode for six days and has not been unlocked with Touch ID for the past eight hours.

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Users (including this reporter) began noticing this change in the last several weeks, even though an Apple spokesperson says it was added in the first release of iOS 9. However, a bullet point describing this restriction only appeared in the iOS Security Guide on May 12, 2016, according to the guide’s internal PDF timestamp. Apple declined to explain the rationale for this restriction.

The previous five passcode requirements are: the device has been turned on or restarted, the device has not been unlocked for 48 hours, the device has received a remote lock command from Find My iPhone, five unsuccessful Touch ID attempts and adding new fingers to Touch ID.

It's unclear why Apple added the restriction and why it chose an eight-hour window, but the rule comes after a judge granted a search warrant forcing a woman to unlock her iPhone with Touch ID. The decision comes as some believe the biometric nature of Touch ID isn't protected by the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination. Passcodes, however, are considered protected individual privacies.

Tag: Touch ID

Top Rated Comments

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Ron21

44 months ago

Excellent news! Now if only they'd add passcode/touch ID requirement for iPhone shut down :)

Rating: 35 Votes

al256

44 months ago

The Bill of Rights means more to me than any inconvenience I may have from my long, complex password on my iOS devices. I'm glad these changes are being made.

Rating: 19 Votes

vertsix

44 months ago

This is great. Other companies need to step up like this.

Rating: 17 Votes

bushido

44 months ago

What I find super annoying is having to put in my Apple ID password the first time u want to download something in the store. Why isn't TouchID enough? You already had to put in the passcode after the reboot anyway. Are they saying TouchID isn't trustworthy enough to confirm its really you?

Rating: 15 Votes

billybobthornton

44 months ago

Next passcode requirement... Put your left foot in and your left foot out. Put your left foot in and shake it all about. Do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around because that's what it's all about.

Rating: 15 Votes

MetalHaze

44 months ago

This isn't going to solve much because the vast majority of people still use a 4 digit passcode. Most don't know that they can make it longer, either 6 digits or alphanumeric. The root problem is that 4 digits is still an option.

I also see a great deal of people that are not making use of TouchID at all. Most of the time the response is "I didn't know I could do that" or "I don't know how to set that up."

You must not own an iPhone because in iOS 9 it no longer defaults the PIN length to 4 characters. You have to manually change it back to 4. More people are more likely to have a PIN longer than four numbers now because of that change.

And really smart people will change it to a long, alpha numeric passcode for ultimate security

Rating: 12 Votes

555gallardo

44 months ago

Okay, so Touch ID was meant to be an easier way to unlock the device, but Apple for some unknown reason requires people to use Passcode pretty much all the time... Then why the f*** do we have Touch ID?

Rating: 12 Votes

bilibug

44 months ago

This should be configurable.

Rating: 11 Votes

IJ Reilly

44 months ago

As someone who considers the possibility that the government will seek out and find something incriminating on my phone almost as likely as being struck by lightening twice in the same day, I find the constant demand to double-unlock it for my own use to be nothing better than an annoying sop to the massively paranoid.

Rating: 9 Votes

rohitp

44 months ago

('https://www.macrumors.com/2016/05/18/apple-adds-passcode-requirement-touch-id/')

Apple recently added a new passcode requirement rule for iPhones with Touch ID enabled, according to ('http://www.macworld.com/article/3072181/ios/new-touch-id-rules-why-you-have-to-enter-your-passcode-when-you-wake-up.html') MacWorld. The new rule requires a user to enter a passcode when an iPhone or iPad has met two conditions: the device has not been unlocked via a passcode for six days and has not been unlocked with Touch ID for the past eight hours.

The previous five passcode requirements are: the device has been turned on or restarted, the device has not been unlocked for 48 hours, the device has received a remote lock command from Find My iPhone, five unsuccessful Touch ID attempts and adding new fingers to Touch ID.

It's unclear why Apple added the restriction and why it chose an eight-hour window, but the rule comes after a judge granted a search warrant ('https://www.macrumors.com/2016/05/02/judge-unlock-iphone-touch-id/') forcing a woman to unlock her iPhone with Touch ID. The decision comes as some believe the biometric nature of Touch ID isn't protected by the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination. Passcodes, however, are considered protected individual privacies.

Article Link: Apple Secretly Adds New Passcode Requirement for Touch ID ('https://www.macrumors.com/2016/05/18/apple-adds-passcode-requirement-touch-id/')

[doublepost=1463630361][/doublepost]The best suggestion I saw was to have one of your fingerprints be a "panic" fingerprint for TouchID; one that immediately locks down the iPhone. It would be a cool security feature to keep Big Brother away.