Apple is experimenting with a way of making iCloud easier to access, while increasing security for users.
If you’re using the beta versions of iOS 13, iPadOS 13 or macOS Catalina, 9to5Mac has spotted that you now have the option to log in using biometrics – a TouchID fingerprint, or FaceID with a supported device. Most obviously, that means FaceID for the iPhone X, XS and XR and TouchID for older iPhones, but select MacBooks are included too. The 15-inch 2015 MacBook Pro and Touch Bar models both support fingerprints, as does the 2018 MacBook Air.
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If you’re running a compatible device that’s also using one of the beta operating systems mentioned, you shouldn’t have to do anything out of the ordinary. When you visit icloud.com, you should be redirected to beta.icloud.com which provides the option, though of course if you’re not, you can type in that URL manually.
However you access it, most pleasingly of all, it doesn’t require any form of two-factor authentication, which may offer a lot more peace-of-mind, but is a whole lot more fiddly at the same time.
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While being a neat feature in its own right, this is likely serving a second purpose: testing the company’s ‘Sign in with Apple’ feature that was announced during WWDC earlier this year.
The feature is “a fast, easy way to sign in without all the tracking”, using Face ID to authenticate logins, while obfuscates your actual email address behind a unique, randomly generated one for every app or service you connect to. Apple has promised that the feature will be available for developers to test this summer, with a public launch in September.
In other words: iCloud today, everything else tomorrow. Hopefully.
Are biometrics that much more convenient than a password? Let us know what you think on Twitter: @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
