Even in the world of tech journalism, there's no point pretending that we're all out here being the best versions of ourselves. No matter how many subscription services you sign up for to help you do better, there are always things you could do to make your life more optimal and sensible.
Normally, that would mean fitness and dieting, but there's also such a thing as digital health, and indeed cybersecurity, all of which we're meant to be well on top of. Right near the top of that last item is keeping unique and complex passwords. I'll hold my hands up – I don't do great on this front.
In fact, ever since Apple launched its own Passwords app, bundling a password manager into its devices, it's been shouting at me about a specific (very old) password I'd been using on a whole range of websites and services. That password had been exposed in a data leak at some point around five years ago and was therefore in the red-flag category that needed an "immediate change".
Well, I obviously look stupid for ignoring that, but ignore it I did – mostly because Apple indicated that I was using the password on some 50+ accounts, which felt like a mountain I couldn't be bothered to climb. I'm not sure exactly what changed, but this weekend I had some spare time and decided that enough was enough.
Changing those passwords wasn't quick, and there's no way around that. It took me a good three or four hours to slowly work through all the sites, logging in or using a reset page to change things, and accepting the generated password that Apple made for me each time. A handful of sites no longer even existed, or had long since deleted my inactive account, which was always a pleasant surprise.
Still, Apple's Passwords manager basically proved its worth and then some throughout the process. Now, I'm sitting pretty on a wide range of unique passwords that I can easily access from my iPhone or my MacBook (the two devices I'm overwhelmingly likely to need them on). I expect to trip up a few times accessing the handful of accounts I do regularly use that now have impossible-to-remember codes, but there's something reassuring about knowing I'm no longer a walking security red flag.
Of course, that still leaves a pretty healthy list of accounts with other duplicate passwords – just ones that haven't been explicitly confirmed as being exposed. Now that I've seen how straightforward it can be to update them, though, I might well get them sorted in the near future, too.
If you're an iPhone user and you think you might have similar gaps in your digital armour, I recommend opening that Passwords app and getting to work – it's worth it in the long run.
