iOS 16.3 introduces a new security feature that changes the way you use your iPhone:
say goodbye to six-digit codes and say hello to security keys, and in not too long say goodbye to
passwords and say hello to passkeys. We'll show you how to set up a security key on your iPhone,
explain why your data isn't secure without one, and tell you about some of our favorite
security keys available right now. First off, David, what is the security key? Security keys
are small devices like this you can use to verify your identity when logging into
your Apple ID. Instead of entering a six-digit verification code for two-factor authentication,
you just use the security key instead. This helps prevent that code from possibly being
intercepted or requested by a hacker, and they don't just work with Apple devices; they work
with Android smartphones, PCs, and Macs, they work on websites like Google and Best Buy and PayPal.
This is awesome. Apple says that security keys for Apple ID is an optional security feature designed
for people such as celebrities, journalists, members of government, and YouTubers (YouTubers,
huh? I may have added that one) who want extra protection from targeted attacks
on their accounts like phishing scams. So why is Apple calling out specific groups of people here,
David? I don't know. I think we all deserve security. I do too, and you know if I was Apple
I'd want to scare everyone so they all go out and buy a security key. They don't sell their
own security yet, but when they do, I think they'll introduce them at WWDC of this year.
You know they'll be selling them to us, but that doesn't mean you should wait to buy a security
key. There are a lot of great options available right now, and we'll tell you about those later
in this video. And stick around to the end of the video to learn why you might not want to get a
security key yet. But first, let's talk about what you need to use a security key. Number one is iOS
16.3. To update your iPhone, open Settings, scroll down, tap General, then tap Software Update. As
you can see, my phone is up to date, running iOS 16.3. And the second (which I learned from
bitter experience) you need two keys; one isn't enough, unless it's subscribing to this channel,
in which case one is more than enough, and we'd really appreciate it. Let's talk about how to
set a security key up on an iPhone. I'm gonna head back to the main page of Settings on this iPhone,
scroll up, and tap on your Apple ID at the top of the screen, tap Password and Security,
and then tap Add Security Keys. You'll get this prompt. We're going to tap Add Security Keys. It
says you need two security keys. Great, we'll tap Continue. Next up is a list of devices that you
need to sign out of. If you haven't signed into those devices within the last 90 days, you'll need
to sign out and then sign back in using your security key, which is totally fine, unless
the device that you're using doesn't support security keys, like David's iPod. Fortunately,
I don't use my iPod anymore, so I'm going to tap Sign Out of Devices. After signing out of those
devices, you'll enter your iPhone passcode, add security keys. So this key supports NFC,
that's short for near field communication. Hold it right at the top of the phone. Okay,
now it says name your first security key. So I'm going to name this security key number one
because I'm very creative. You are. Let's tab Next, upper left-hand corner of the screen,
add security keys. So our second security key, hey, that looks familiar. Can I make a suggestion
here, Dave? Absolutely. So when I did this the first time, I forgot which was number one and
number two, because they're identical. So grab a Sharpie and make a mark on one of your security
keys so you can tell them apart. Taking my second key again, hold it right up to the top of the
phone. If your security key doesn't support NFC, you can plug it into the bottom of the phone with
the little nifty connector. And now we're gonna name our second security key. So I'm going to name
this one number two. How about that? And then tap Next, upper left-hand corner of the screen. Next
up, we need to review our active devices. This is important because we want to make sure the
devices that have access to our account are ones that we ourselves are using and not a device that
somebody else has latched onto our account. If all the devices look okay, tap Stay Signed Into All.
Success! Your security keys have been added. Let's talk about some of our favorite security keys,
starting with Google's Titan security key. Comes with the fanciest box talks of any of the five we
reviewed, starting at $35 for the USB-C version, which we have, and $30 for the older USB-A
version. Both have NFC, both are FIDO compliant. FIDO stands for Fast Identity Online. The FIDO
Alliance formed in 2013 to really limit how dependent we are on passwords, and their goal is
to eliminate passwords entirely. This is the solid first step toward the passkey future. For all of
our keys, we'll compare the style, the sturdiness, and whether it will actually fit on a real key
ring. What about this Titan in terms of the Titan security key of the ones we've looked at? I think
it was really the most stylish of the bunch, but I don't really know if style is something you're
necessarily looking for for your security keys. I think that's kind. I think the front is pretty
stylish. I think the back is not. They listed all the different regulatory agencies there. Also,
IP68 water-resistant. Something to really think about too, because if you have it on your key ring
and you're going outside and you're walking and it starts to rain, you don't want your security key
to just break. Or you live in the Adirondacks, you drop your keys in the snow often, you don't want
them getting totally destroyed. That's for sure. In terms of sturdiness, I would say it's a pretty
solid key. I mean, I can't, but I'm not going to try to break my own security key, but it's it's
pretty sturdy, and there is some metal reinforcing the key ring hole, so right, so it works well for
me. I've been using this key actually for the past week or so. It's held up well so far. It
does work pretty seamlessly with the rest of my keys with the Apple AirTag keychain, which I...
Titan security key, stylish, sturdy, key ring test, pass, $35. Great deal. Good deal. Okay,
what's next? We have the GoTrust iDem key. Starting with the style of the five keys we
looked at, this was my favorite. Why? Well, it's subtle. I like the subtlety, the basicness of
it. It's $32. It's as sturdy as the Titan. We're just gonna get all of them out at the same time.
Sturdy is the Titan, and I think for a security key, I don't want something so flashy that it's
going to attract somebody's eye if it's on my key ring. I'll disagree with David a little bit here,
because there's no metal reinforcement around the key ring hole. The plastic is sturdy. I don't
know how it's gonna hold up without any metal over time, because the hole is really small.
Oh, your key ring is just too big. Oh, it fit. See, he's already defending it. I've
become personally attached. Actually, the iDem key: It's not gonna work on a fit on
a thick keyring. Simple as that. Yeah. All the things considered, I do prefer the Google Titan.
I just feel more secure with Google than I do with GoTrust. You're taking it for granted that
these are all going to work. Yeah, I'll be I'll be shocked if they don't work, but we'll see. Well,
that's why we're testing them. Next up, we have the Yubikey 5Ci. Starting price $75, so just keep
that in mind as we talk about this key, because you can get two Titans, which you need two,
or two GoTrusts for the price of one of these. Yubikey does have other security keys for sale.
This one's $75. The other ones are cheaper, but I got this one because it has a lightning port.
It's the only one of our keys that does have that, and we'll talk about why that's important at the
end of the video. In terms of design and style, I just the the key ring right in the middle is
really weird to me. It is weird, and it's also not very big. Now that I'm looking at it, I don't
think this is going to work either with the Apple key ring, even though this is specifically listed
on their website. In terms of style, though, it's small. It's definitely small. Easier to lose.
Well, if it's on your key ring, it's not gonna that's not gonna fit in your key ring. That's not
even gonna fit in this. But look how small that is. I guess it works, it's just a little awkward.
Yeah, I can see that easily causing damage to a phone though. Like, yeah, exactly, if it's on a
flat surface you plug it in and then it starts to weigh down on the phone, it's gonna just lodge the
Lightning port a little bit, so be careful with that. Ain't that the truth? The actual connector
on the security key is gonna bend and then it's gonna stop working, so you'd keep that in mind.
Just make sure this works. I know that one's gonna work, it's gotta work, it's definitely gonna work.
Accessory Yubikey 5Ci uses an app you do not have installed. This security key does not have NFC,
so when you plug it into the Lightning port of your iPhone or your other Apple device,
you will need to install a Yubikey app to get it to work, or you can just buy a NFC key from Yubikey,
one without a Lightning connector, but they're all more expensive than the Titan.
Next up, we have the Feitian security key, only $25, and it looks a little flimsy,
it looks a little cheap to me. Yeah, so this is a USB-A security key. We found that the USB-A ones
for older model computers are typically cheaper than the USB-C ones, but at $25, it's not that
much cheaper. I think that the exposed connectors are going to get dinged up on a keyring, and with
exposed connectors like this, your keyring gets gunked up with stuff, and then you're putting
that gunk right inside of the USB port on your computer. Now, one thing that is cool about this
key is that the little logo here actually is an LED light that can light up when you're using it,
so that's pretty cool. Let's pop it on the keyring and see how we do it. It's just like
really cheap feeling plastic. The keyring at the top is kind of thin, so I would be concerned over
time about that potentially getting pulled apart a little bit, but we'll see. Does work, just that
little extra size on the keyring makes all the difference. Works just fine. See, we'll gonna add
security key to the phone. I'm gonna hold it up here. There we go. Took a few tries, interesting.
It said it failed a couple of
times, but it does work, it does work, don't give up. And we're gonna name this what it is,
there that's what it is, we'll tap done. Yeah, I kind of want to like try to snap it in half,
see if it's actually that flimsy. Yeah, oh my God, you hear that? Yeah, I mean, oh my,
I mean, not — not ideal. And it's not like if it's in your pocket, I mean, David didn't even
have to put much oomph into that, but if this is in your pocket, that's just gonna happen right,
or your keyring and it gets kind of jammed up in there, it's like very easily snap. So
I did, I didn't think it would be that easy. Okay, well, uh, I'm not gonna recommend
this key unless maybe it might be a good backup key that you just put in your safe and never
look at again, uh, but as a primary key, I would not feel comfortable going around with this, no,
not at all. And last and least, at least in terms of dollars, at 15, we have the Identive security
key. If you want that 15 price, you do need to go to Amazon. If you go to Identiv's website, it
costs $25. Did you really care about any of that information? Probably not. When I took this out of
the box the first time, I thought it looked like one of those Covid tests, like receptacles, but
it is not that, it is a security key. The first words that came to my mind were Fisher Price in
terms of style, not very stylish, unless you like that, you know, gold, gold trim, black and gold,
maybe you're from Pittsburgh and you like the uh, the color scheme there. I like the fact that the
Identiv part is kind of embossed, so if you're in your pocket, you can feel which one this is. Let's
see how this works. Wow, good fit, no, no, well, no, it's awful, because look, see, look at it,
super wide in one part, but that means that it's super thin with the other part, yeah, so it's
always going to be sticking out at a weird angle, yeah, that's awful, not, not ideal. Let's see if
it can at least pair to this phone. I'm gonna tap add security key and we're gonna bring it up here
and come on, make it easy on me, nice and easy. Security key, this is Identiv,
it sounds like a dental company, yeah. Well, these last two, just in terms of like build quality,
I feel like they really fell off the cliff with the last two and I'm like,
I think I could probably break those in half if I really tried. And I don't know about this one,
David, I think this one might be a little bit, I think I go, I didn't take a crack at it, I think I
could probably, no, I don't actually, I could, oh, there you go, yeah, you can hear it, yeah, it's
it's sturdier though, it is definitely sturdier. I think I'll be able to snap off the USB-A part, but
that's a lot sturdier, yeah, it's a lot sturdier. Wow, yeah, the Fisher Price one actually is not
the least sturdy of the bunch, but as you said, just having to hang off your key at a weird angle,
not susceptible, and you did get it to crack a little bit, so it's very sturdy,
yeah, I mean, compared to the other one, sure is, I got it to crack a little bit,
but I think it's still probably gonna work. Best overall security key for me right now is
the Google Titan security key, though I am excited to see what Apple comes out with in a few months.
So what happens if we lose one of these security keys? Well, according to Apple,
you're responsible for maintaining your security keys, and if you lose them both,
you could be locked out of your account forever, so be careful. We know we need our iPhones to be
running iOS 16.3 to use security keys. What about other Apple software? iPad OS 16.3,
Mac OS Ventura 13.2 or later? You also need to have two-factor authentication turned on on your
Apple ID. So if you get to the security keys page, you can just tap back one page, one above
security keys is two-factor authentication, definitely turn that on if it's not already.
Apple says that their two-step authentication is, according to what they found out so far,
the most widely used in the world, because 95% of Apple IDs have two-step authentication enabled.
We've talked about iPads, iPhones, Macs. What about Apple Watch, Apple TV,
and HomePod, which are Apple devices that don't have NFC or USB? For those,
you just need an iPhone or an iPad with a software version that supports security
key. So if an Apple Watch Ultra, just make sure you've got your iPhone running iOS 16.3.
iPhones are pretty much the only Apple devices that support NFC, they have the chip built in.
How do I use security keys then with my ninth generation iPad,
which only has a lightning adapter? That's where the Yuba key 5ci, for example, comes in handy with
the lightning connector, you just plug it right in. What doesn't work with security keys? Can't
use iCloud for Windows, so UPC people that use iCloud for Windows might want to hold off. Also,
Apple watches that are paired with a family member's iPhone and not your own, those
won't work. And there's one more thing, child accounts and managed Apple IDs won't work either.
And the number one reason why you might not want to upgrade to security keys right now
is if you have a device that doesn't support the software version of iOS or iPad OS or Mac OS that
supports security keys, so you iPhone 5 people out there, out of luck. Another thing to keep in mind,
you can have up to six security keys at one time. So if you want to buy six, yeah, here we go,
to say I've already got six, uh, maybe not this one, no, you don't want that one, I don't,
it's a little broken in half, it's really broken. You can have up to six keys at one time. I mean,
how many backups do you really need though, up to five, up to five, at least one, no more than five.
Can I stop using security keys once I start using them, David? Let's say I
buy them all and then I realize iCloud for Windows is the most important thing ever,
can I stop? Yes, you can. So in password and security settings on your iPhone,
if you tap on your security keys, you can just tap on your security key
and then tap remove key to remove an individual key, or you can tap remove all keys.
And do they work with more than just Apple IDs? Well, we kind of already said yes,
but where are we headed next from here? What's the next step from Fido? The next step is pass keys,
no more passwords, pass keys, you don't have to remember them,
just like you don't have to remember the secret ignition code for your car that's
stored in your car key. Do you feel more secure, marginally? Yeah, I feel more anxious though,
because I lose one of my keys and I'm screwed, but you know, that's why it's important to keep
track. Once I have that second security key in my safe in my house, I'll be totally fine.
Now that you are a security key expert, check out our next video to learn what to do when
you think your iPhone is being hacked and how you can stop those hackers for good.