Apple is making it mandatory to set an app-specific password for iCloud from June 15, 2017. In this tip we show why and how to set such a password.
Apple makes iCloud app-specific password mandatory
To further strengthen the security of iCloud, it will be mandatory to provide third-party apps that use your iCloud with their own password. Apps like Outlook now need their own code to protect your data.
This only applies to users who do not use Apple’s own apps to use mail, contacts or your calendar on your iPhone or iPad. App Store apps that use Apple’s own APIs to add iCloud integration also don’t count. After all, you never enter a special password for this.
The advantage of these codes is that your real data is masked from the third party. Giving you a randomly generated password that doesn’t come from Apple’s servers will keep your iCloud data more secure than before.
Before going through the steps below, make sure you have two-step verification turned on. This is required to set an app-specific password. If you have activated this, you can activate the new security measure via the steps below.
This is how you create an iCloud app-specific password
- Log in to the Apple ID website with your iCloud email and password;
- Scroll to security;
- Under App-specific passwords, click on ‘create password’;
- Give the password a label, so you know what you will use it for later;
- Apple generates a password, copy it;
- Open the app and log out, then enter your iCloud email and app-specific password.
You must repeat this process once for all third-party apps that use your iCloud account. In this way you create your own password for each app. If you ever change your Apple ID password, all app-specific passwords will be revoked.
Apple lets you create 25 of these passwords at a time. By tapping ‘Edit’ in the security menu, you can see which passwords have been created and you can change or delete them (if necessary).
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