Chapter 8. Protecting Your Privacy
Right now, anyone can pick up your iPad, turn it on, and see all the information stored on it, such as your email messages, appointments, or important contacts (names and phone numbers). To help keep your iPad’s information private, you can turn on the passcode feature.
The passcode feature, which is different from the parental controls discussed in Chapter 7, lets you set a four-digit code that someone must enter before they can use your iPad. If someone tries guessing your passcode, you can even have your iPad automatically erase its data after 10 failed passcode attempts. By turning on this passcode feature, you can protect your data from spies and nosy relatives.
In this chapter you’ll learn how to define a passcode to limit access to your iPad and keep others from identifying the location of your iPad.
Setting (or Removing) a Passcode
Initially, your iPad does not require a passcode to start using it. Just press the Home button or the On/Off button, slide your finger across the screen to unlock the Home screen, and you (or anyone else who gets a hold of your iPad) can start peeking through your data. A passcode simply acts like a password that locks out strangers from using your iPad.
Setting a Passcode
Setting a four-digit passcode simply provides a barrier to prevent someone from accessing your iPad. To set a passcode, follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Settings. The Settings screen appears.
Tap General. The General settings screen appears.
Tap Passcode Lock. The Passcode Lock settings screen appears, as shown in Figure 8-1.
Tap Turn Passcode On. A Set Passcode screen appears, as shown in Figure 8-2.
Type a four-digit code.
A second Set Passcode screen appears. Type your four-digit code a second time to verify that you remember what it is.
Press the Home button.
Note
Warning: If you forget your four-digit passcode, you’ll lock yourself out of your iPad, so make sure you remember it!
Changing a Passcode
If you have already defined a passcode but want to change it to a different one, you can by following these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Settings.
Tap General. The General settings screen appears.
Tap Passcode Lock. An Enter Passcode screen appears.
Type your current four-digit passcode. The Passcode Lock screen appears.
Tap Change Passcode. A Change Passcode screen appears.
Type your current four-digit code.
Type a new four-digit code.
A second Set Passcode screen appears. Type your new four-digit code a second time to verify that you remember what it is.
Press the Home button.
Removing a Passcode
After you have defined a passcode, you can always remove it by following these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Settings. The Settings screen appears.
Tap General. The General settings screen appears.
Tap Passcode Lock. An Enter Passcode screen appears.
Type your four-digit passcode. The Passcode Lock screen appears.
Tap Turn Passcode Off. A Turn Off Passcode screen appears.
Type your four-digit code. The passcode feature is now turned off.
Press the Home button.
Note
By default, the passcode is short—just 4 digits. You can turn the Simple Passcode setting off and use a longer, more complicated passcode with the full keyboard.
Defining When to Ask for a Passcode
If you often turn your iPad off and on in short intervals throughout the day, you may not want to keep typing in a passcode. In that case, you can adjust the time interval before your iPad will ask for the passcode. The longer the time interval, the less chance you’ll constantly need to keep typing in a passcode each time you turn on your iPad. However, the longer the time interval, the greater the chance that someone can steal or peek at your iPad and see all your data.
To define the time interval before your iPad asks for a passcode, follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Settings. The Settings screen appears.
Tap General. The General settings screen appears.
Tap Passcode Lock. An Enter Passcode screen appears.
Type your four-digit passcode. The Passcode Lock settings screen appears.
Tap Require Passcode. The Require Passcode screen appears, as shown in Figure 8-3.
Tap an option such as Immediately, After 5 minutes, or After 1 hour.
Press the Home button.
Erasing Data After 10 Incorrect Passcodes
Turning on the passcode feature can prevent a thief from peeking at your iPad’s data. However, for even more security, you can make your iPad automatically erase its data if someone tries 10 incorrect passcodes in a row. To turn on this data-erasing feature after you have already defined a passcode, follow these steps:
From the Home screen, tap Settings. The Settings screen appears.
Tap General. The General settings screen appears.
Tap Passcode Lock. An Enter Passcode screen appears.
Type your four-digit passcode. The Passcode Lock screen appears.
Tap the Erase Data on/off switch. If you turn it ON, a message appears letting you know that your iPad will erase its data after 10 failed passcode attempts, as shown in Figure 8-4.
Tap Enable or Cancel.
Press the Home button.
Additional Ideas for Protecting Your iPad
Since the iPad is so small and light (and popular), use a four-digit passcode to deny thieves access to your data if they happen to steal your iPad. For more security, consider paying an annual fee to use MobileMe (http://www.apple.com/mobileme/), which is an online service that can help locate your iPad whenever it’s turned on and near a Wi-Fi or 3G network.
If you set a passcode to access your iPad and set a different passcode (as explained in Chapter 7) to block certain features, you can create two barriers to someone trying to use your iPad without your permission.
Perhaps the best way to keep strangers from peeking at your iPad is to keep your iPad out of sight whenever you’re in a public area, especially when you’re outdoors. If you stare at your iPad in a public place, your attention will be diverted from your surroundings, which makes it easy for a thief to grab your iPad since you’ll be unaware of the thief’s approach. Use your iPad indoors, or make sure you’re aware of your surroundings if you use the iPad outside. By always being alert for possible thieves who might target your iPad, you can minimize the chances that you’ll lose your iPad.