“Passkey” is the name for a simplified login process to websites that arrived in its full glory later this year with macOS 13 Ventura, iOS 16, and iPadOS 16. A passkey relies on broadly supported industry standards to let you carry out an encrypted login with almost no effort on your part after the initial setup.

You can try a passkey without installing the public betas of these upcoming operating systems, as Apple built passkey support in a preview form into Safari across all its operating systems in iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and Safari 15 with macOS 12 Monterey. With the full release of passkeys in a few weeks or months, and Google and Microsoft’s announced support for compatible technology, you’re likely to see options to add a passkey login at many websites this fall.

Here’s how the process works.

Apple IDs

Beginning with iOS 17 and macOS 14 Sonoma, your Apple ID will support passkey authentication. Anywhere you need to sign in with your Apple ID, including websites and icloud.com, you’ll have two options to log in: with a standard password or by pressing the “Continue with Apple” button that will display a QR code that can be scanned with your iPhone’s camera to create the unique code.

Enroll at a website

A passkey comprises a paired set of encryption keys, known generally as public-key cryptography. When you visit a server that supports WebAuthn (the technology required to accept, store, and interact with a passkey), your browser will present the public key of the encryption pair. The public key can’t be used for login but rather to prove your identity: you possess the private key, which is created on your device and never leaves it for a login.

To enroll, you visit a website that offers passkey support. A site might state it supports passkeys generically, say that it has WebAuthn support, or declare that it’s FIDO2, CTAP, or “multi-device FIDO credential” compatible. All of those terms should mean you can use an Apple (or Google or Microsoft) passkey as your login credential. (FIDO2 is the name given by the FIDO Alliance trade group, a key part of making passkeys and WebAuthn happen, and which Apple, Microsoft, and Google are members of.)

The process will work very similarly to when you enroll at a site for two-factor authentication (2FA) or if you have previously used a hardware key for WebAuthn, like those made by Yubico:

1. Log in using your existing username and password.
2. The site may prompt you for additional verification. This might be a link sent via email, a texted code, or a prompt for a 2FA acknowledgment with a code or via an app you already have installed on your iPhone or iPad.
3. The site’s security section lets you choose to use a passkey or one of the alternate names above.
4. The web server pushes a request to your browser to provide encryption information.
5. You’re prompted to approve this request with Touch ID, Face ID, or your device password, depending on what’s available and enabled.
6. If you successfully validate your identity, your device generates the public/private key pair. The private key is stored on your device and never sent to the remote site.
7. Your browser sends the public key along with a cryptographically signed message that the server can validate using the provided public key: only someone whose device holds the private key can produce a verifiable message.
8. The web server stores your public key for your future logins.

Setting up a passkey login may disable 2FA on your account or allow you to opt for a passkey login instead of a 2FA pathway. A passkey provides proof of possession of both a secret and the device on which it’s stored, effectively two factors. (Some higher-security sites and services may still require 2FA instead of or in addition to a passkey.)

You can see the passkey process at work with some of the underlying technical pieces exposed at Webauthn.me, a site made by Auth0, a provider of authentication services. Some production sites currently offer passkey-compatible logins, but they’re fairly few at the moment. You could set a Google or Dropbox account to use a “security key” and use a passkey instead. See below for my experience with that.

Log in with a passkey

At an enrolled site, you can use a stored passkey the next time you need to log in. You might have noticed that many websites have begun to split the user name or account email submission from a password submission–that appears to be prep for passkeys.

With a site fully ready for passkeys, you’ll tap or click in a username or account email field and be prompted by Safari to validate a passkey login. In some cases, Safari may first ask you if you want to allow Touch ID or “security key” logins on the site; click Allow to continue. Then you can authenticate via Touch ID, Face ID, or your device password just as during enrollment. That’s it! Using the Webauthn.me site noted above, you can test this in Step 4 of its process.

With some sites that have WebAuthn support but aren’t yet fully aligned with the simplified passkey process, you may be prompted to perform a normal user name and password login before the site initiates the sequence that asks your browser for a passkey.

I was able to enroll with a passkey at Dropbox by choosing the Security Key option and following the prompts within Safari for macOS. (While logged into Dropbox via Safari, click your avatar in the upper-right corner, click the Security link, and click Add next to “Security keys.” When it asks if you’ve inserted the key, confirm you have.)

Subsequent logins worked in Safari for macOS but not in Safari for iOS, probably because of a lack of iCloud Keychain sync support prior to the release of the new operating systems. In iOS 16, iPadOS 15, and Ventura, with iCloud Keychain enabled, passkeys will sync and be listed in Settings > Passwords in iOS/iPadOS and System Settings > Passwords in Ventura.

Apple will let you share passkeys with other Apple users by securely sending them over AirDrop. This will share both the public and private key and give people the same degree of account access as if you had given them the username, password, and two-factor token for your account.

Login from other devices

Some sites will let you specify a passkey login as your sole method to gain access. So what if you’re trying to log in from a device that doesn’t have your passkey stored, like a communal or family computer, a device at work, or one you have access to while traveling? Or you need to use a Windows system or Android phone to access a site due to features specific to those platforms? Apple demonstrated a clever approach in its introduction to passkeys at the 2022 Worldwide Developer Conference that requires a QR code and Bluetooth.

The process works like this:

1. On a device with an operating system or browser new enough to support WebAuthn logins, when you enter your account name at a website with which you use a passkey.
2. The site will query the browser for a passkey, and the browser will discover it has none. You can then click to provide a passkey via a proxy, such as by clicking “Add a new phone.”
3. The site sends a query that causes the browser to display a QR Code.
4. On your iPhone or iPad, you scan the QR Code and tap the prompt “Sign in with a passkey.”
5. On your device, click Continue and then approve the login with Touch ID, Face ID, or your device password.
6. The browser shows you’re logged in.

During this process, the device on which the QR Code is displayed and your iPhone or iPad quietly establish a connection via Bluetooth and exchange key information. This lets your device get assurance that the login is happening using a piece of gear that’s nearby to prevent remote attacks, and the Bluetooth backchannel an encrypted channel separate from the browser connection, avoiding phishing attacks that present fake logins.

After you’ve authenticated your login on that other device, your session proceeds as normal. Make sure and log out when you’re done to clear the state.

The future is passkeys

The simplicity of passkeys hides the sophistication. For once, we get both ease, no overhead for managing the process, and the highest possible level of security. Each login is unique, stored for you, and verified in both directions—by your device and by the site—to ensure only the person with access to your device can log into the site.

Internet

Apple originally introduced FileVault to bring full-disk encryption (FDE) protection to macOS. FDE ensures that your entire startup volume is locked away when macOS is shut down (not just sleeping) by setting an encryption key for the volume. FileVault locks that key away, pairing it with an account on your Mac that’s authorized to log in after a full shutdown. Without that key, there’s no effective way to bring that computer to life.

Starting with Intel Mac models with a T2 Security Chip, your startup volume is always encrypted for FileVault no longer performs that task. That’s also the case for all M-series Macs. With those models, FileVault just protects the volume’s encryption key, a critical-enough feature. (With a hardware-encrypted volume and FileVault disabled, there’s a potential opening for a malicious party who obtains your computer while it’s powered up to access your stored files.)

If you have FileVault enabled with any Mac model, you can get locked out of your drive forever in certain cases if you haven’t taken a preventative step. You might not use a Mac for a while and forget the password for any of its authorized FileVault accounts. And, based on some emails I’ve received, account management can sometimes go wrong and macOS Recovery—used both for “cold start” logins to macOS after a full shut down and to diagnose problems on your startup volume—demands a login where the correct password fails to let you in.

In those cases, the recovery key set by macOS at the time you turned on FileVault on your Mac can do the trick. But if enough time has passed, you might have forgotten where you stashed the key or how to retrieve it. Macworld reader Elaina fell into that camp. She couldn’t find the key, and she remembered using the iCloud option to store it, but has examined iCloud Drive and couldn’t find it. She’s concerned that she could wind up locked out and be unable to obtain the Recovery Key.

This is a problem with security options on systems reliable enough that you don’t have to work with them regularly to refresh your memory. Touch ID and Face ID in iOS and iPadOS and Touch ID in macOS require that you re-enter the device passcode or password at least every six days so you don’t forget them.

When you first set up FileVault, one of the steps asks you whether you want to use your iCloud account as a way to unlock your disk and reset your macOS account password if you can’t find your recovery key. (In Monterey and earlier, go to  > System Preferences > Security & Privacy > FileVault; in Ventura or later, go to  > System Settings > Privacy & Security and scroll down to the FileVault section.)

If you choose iCloud, the recovery key isn’t stored loosely in iCloud Drive or as a file. Instead, it’s tied into behind-the-scenes account information that Apple maintains. It’s fully encrypted in such a way that even Apple doesn’t have access to the unencrypted recovery key data, but Apple can deliver the encrypted recovery key to your Mac if you need to reset your password. You never see the recovery key nor have to enter it in this configuration. (The process is a little involved: Apple describes it in the section “Reset using the Reset Password assistant (FileVault must be on)” in this support document.)

If you choose the other path, where FileVault generates a recovery key and displays it, you need to make sure and write it down or enter it electronically and store it securely in such a way that you’ll have access even when your Mac can’t be booted. I use 1Password’s secure notes for this purpose, but any method of storage that’s reliable, secure, and accessible will work.

A good strategy would be to set a quarterly reminder to look for your recovery key (and other important passwords and keys you have to store in the same place). If you can’t find it, disable FileVault in macOS and re-enable it. On Intel models without a T2 Security Chip, this will take a while, as the entire drive is decrypted and then re-encrypted; on T2 Intel models and M-series, the process takes seconds. With any model of Mac, macOS generates an entirely new recovery key, which you can then more carefully note again.

With each of the above situations, if you can’t log into iCloud or you lose the recovery key, your Mac’s files are irretrievable forever, as I wrote about last year.

Ask Mac 911

We’ve compiled a list of the questions we get asked most frequently along with answers and links to columns: read our super FAQ to see if your question is covered. If not, we’re always looking for new problems to solve! Email yours to mac911@macworld.com including screen captures as appropriate, and whether you want your full name used. Every question won’t be answered, we don’t reply to email, and we cannot provide direct troubleshooting advice.

iCloud, MacOS, Security

After announcing its big yearly operating system update in its WWDC keynote on June 6, 2022, and following months of beta testing, Apple made iOS 16 available to be installed on iPhones on September 12, 2022, followed by iPadOS 16.1 on October 24. But while tons of new features arrived in September, and even more in the months that followed, there is still more to come as Apple continues to work on iOS 16.

In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about iOS 16 and how it’s going to affect your iPhone and iPad experience if you haven’t updated yet, including new features, design changes, and details of any issues and flaws people are encountering with the new software.

We’ll also let you know what the latest version of iOS 16 is and what new features it brought. And we’ll reveal what features will be coming in the next update to iOS 16.

Want to know what’s coming in iOS 17, read our iOS 17 guide.

Update May 10, 2023: Apple has released the release candidate beta of iOS 16.5, which suggests the final version will arrive very soon.

iOS 16: Latest version

Apple issued a Rapid Security Response update for iOS 16.4.1 on 2 May. This was the first time Apple had used the Rapid Security Response system on a regular public release, the ability to release these RSRs means Apple can patch security vulnerabilities quickly, rather than waiting for a larger version releases that can take weeks to test. The patch was for iOS 16.4.1 (and iPadOS 16.4.1 and macOS 13.3.1). Apple stated that: “This Rapid Security Response provides important security fixes and is recommended for all users.” The update requires the iPhone to shut down and restart and is about 85.2MB. If you have installed this update it will show on your iPhone as iOS 16.4.1 (a).

iOS 16.4.1 arrived on April 7, it brought a number of bug and security fixes including:

• Pushing hands emoji does not show skin tone variations.
• Siri does not respond in some cases.
• Fixes for two security flaws that allowed for arbitrary code execution.
• It is hoped that the 16.4.1 update fixes the Weather app issue.

iOS 16.4 arrived on March 27 and included the following:

• Apple Music Classical support: Apple Music Classical is now available as an app (downloadable from the App Store). You’ll need an Apple Music subscription to use it though.
• Home update: a Home architecture update briefly arrived in iOS 16.2 before Apple pulled it after sharing issues. The functionality is back in iOS 16.4 and should make the Home architecture “faster and more reliable”.
• New emoji: iOS 16.4 brings with it a bunch of new emoji including a shaking face (to indicate “no”), left and right pushing hands, several new animals (moose, goose, jellyfish), extra food items, new musical instruments and new heart colors.
• Support for web push notifications: Web apps saved to the Home screen will be able to receive live updates (if users grant permission).
• Changes for Beta testers: Testers can go to Settings > General > Software Updates and choose whether to have no beta updates, Developer Beta updates (if applicable), or Public Beta updates. In addition, to prevent testers loading beta versions through third-party sites and profiles, Apple will require an Apple ID enrolled in the beta program. This can be a second Apple ID used only for beta access.
• Update to the Podcasts app: An improved Up Next queue and features like episode filtering and the ability to browse by season.
• 5G: Standalone support for U.S. T-Mobile users to enable faster speeds where possible. 
• Widgets: New Wallet widget to easily track orders. 
• Books page turning animation: The corner of the page will folds up to represent page turning–this is a feature that was removed from Apple Books in iOS 16.
• Mastadon support: You will be able to see automatic previews of Mastadon links in Messages.
• Security updates and fixes: iOS 16.4 includes more than 30 security updates.

For more information read: Why you will want to update to iOS 16.4.

Before iOS 16.4 iOS 16.3.1 arrived on February 13 and brought bug fixes and critical security updates. The update also improves Crash Detection on iPhone 14, Siri requests for Find My, and iCloud settings. (There is also a iPadOS 16.3.1 update for iPads).

iOS 16.3 arrived on January 23, 2023. It’s notable features include support for security keys for Apple IDs and the expansion of Advanced Data Protection to users outside the U.S. It also adds support for the new 2nd-generation HomePod. It also included bug fixes and security updates.

iOS 16.3 included:

• Emergency SOS calls now require holding the side button with the up or down volume button and then releasing in order to prevent inadvertent emergency calls
• Fixes an issue in Freeform where some drawing strokes created with Apple Pencil or your finger may not appear on shared boards
• Addresses an issue where the wallpaper may appear black on the Lock Screen
• Fixes an issue where the Home Lock Screen widget does not accurately display Home app status
• Addresses an issue where Siri may not respond properly to music requests
• Resolves issues where Siri requests in CarPlay may not be understood correctly
• Addresses an issue where the wallpaper may appear black on the Lock Screen
• Fixes an issue where the Home Lock Screen widget does not accurately display Home app status
• Addresses an issue where Siri may not respond properly to music requests
• Resolves issues where Siri requests in CarPlay may not be understood correctly
• Security fixes, including a serious Kernel bug that could allow an app to “execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges” and a Screen Time flaw
• Support for HomePod (2nd gen).
• Black Unity Apple Watch face.
• Advanced Data Protection for all users worldwide, even though the release notes do not mention it.
• Physical security keys for Apple ID: You will be able to secure your Apple ID with a FIDO-certified physical key and it will replace two-factor authentication for ‌Apple ID‌ logins

iOS 16.2 arrived on December 13. Along with the temporary Home update, iOS 16.2 brought a new karaoke feature to Apple Music, improved the always-on display on iPhone 14 Pro, and introduced the Freeform app.

iOS 16.2 included:

• Apple Music Sing: A new Karaoke experience built into Apple Music. Read more about Apple Music Sing.
• The new Freeform digital whiteboarding app: This will let users collaborate with friends, family, and coworkers on a digital whiteboard sharing sketches, notes, files, web links, documents, photos, video, and audio.
• New always-on display options for iPhone 14 Pro: Two new toggles are available in Settings > Display & Brightness > Always On Display. One can disable the wallpaper when the always-on display is active, the other disables notifications. You can also see Sleep widget data, medications widget data, live scores from your favorite teams on your lock screen and in Dynamic Island (iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max only)
• A major home screen layout change thanks to a new Custom Accessibility Mode: This will provide a more streamlined iPhone experience with customizable features for users with accessibility needs.
• Game Center gained support for SharePlay for game right playing in a FaceTime call.
• Advanced Data Protection for iCloud: iCloud Backup, Notes, and Photos and more are protected using end-to-end encryption. You are also able to Turn Off Hide IP Address setting enables iCloud Private Relay users to temporarily disable the service for a specific site in Safari.
• Participant Cursors in Notes so you see live indicators as others make updates in a shared note.
• Older notifications are visible by default: instead of having to swipe up to see old notifications.
• More frequent Live Activities updates.
• Improved search in Messages – find photos based on their content, like a dog, car, person, or text.
• Crash Detection optimizations (iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro)
• 10-minute AirDrop limit: iOS 16.2 limits the “everyone” setting for AirDrop permissions to 10 minutes at a time.
• On the day of the iOS 16.2 release, Satellite SOS arrived in the U.K and other locations.

iPadOS users also gain Stage Manager external display support in iPadOS 16.2. External display support for iPads that have the M1 or M2 chip will allow iPad users to hook their tablet up to a secondary display using Stage Manager.

Prior to iOS 16.2, Apple released iOS 16.1.2, this update included improved crash detection, carrier upgrades and security updates. It came out on November 30. iOS 16.1.1 included bug fixes and security updates. About a month after iOS 16.0 arrived, iOS 16.1 became available to download on October 24. iOS 16.1 includes several new features and fixes.

iOS 16.0.3 arrived on October 11. The previous iOS 16 update came on September 22. iOS 16.0.2 included a fix for a camera shaking problem iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max users had been experiencing, and iOS 16.0.1 addressed an issue with activation and migration during setup.

Should you update to iOS 16 now? We have a guide to help you answer that question. You may also like to read: If you’ve updated to iOS 16.2, do these five things right now.

Plus, we also have a list of every version of iOS where you can see the latest versions and how long Apple supports iOS for.

Next iOS update release date

Apple released iOS 16.4 on March 27, 2023. Apple is now working on testing iOS 16.5, with the final version likely to arrive on iPhones in May. We don’t expect much in the way of new features as Apple is likely to be starting to focus on development of iOS 17.

iOS 16: Latest beta version

The final candidate (5th) version of the iOS 16.5 beta was released to testers on May 9. This suggests that the final version will be released to the public around May 15. So far we have heard about the following new features:

• A new ‘multi-view’ sports feature for the TV App, which gains a new Sports tab at the bottom of the screen.
• Siri will be able to start screen recording, you just need to say: “Hey Siri, start [or stop] a screen recording.”
• A new Pride Celebration wallpaper for the Lock Screen to honor the LGBTQ+ community and culture.
• A new Sports tab in Apple News as well as a My Sports score and schedule cards linking to information about specific games.
• Fix for issue where Spotlight may become unresponsive.
• Fix for issue where Podcasts in CarPlay may not load content.
• Fixes for issue where Screen Time settings may reset or not sync across all devices.

If you want to test the beta, you can register for Apple’s Beta Software Program.

See how to get the iOS beta.

iOS 16: Bugs and problems, known and fixed issues

Since the release of iOS 16 the following issues have been highlighted:

• An iOS 16 Mail bug was able to cause an endless loop of app crashes and lock users out of their Mail account. VPN Tracker found that an email from an address with double quotes (“”@macworld.com for example) will cause Mail on iOS 16 to repeatedly crash. FIXED in iOS 16.0.3
• There were also reports from iPhone 14 users that the Camera app can be slow to open. FIXED IN iOS 16.0.3
• Some users had a problem where incoming calls and app notifications were not displayed. FIXED IN iOS 16.0.3
• There was an early issue with low microphone volume in CarPlay. FIXED IN iOS 16.0.3
• Some users experienced an issue with excessive “copy and paste” alerts when moving text and images between apps. FIXED IN iOS 16.0.2
• An issue affecting the iPhone 14 Pro camera caused the optical image stabilization sensor to fail to focus properly. FIXED IN iOS 16.0.2
• A lot of users experienced problems connecting to Wi-Fi. In our experience, a reboot of the iPhone generally enabled it to connect to Wi-Fi again so that the update could be installed. Otherwise, it is possible to install an update over a cellular connection. Any further issues with Wi-Fi might be because settings have changed so check if your iPhone is set to connect automatically to your WiFi network for example, more ideas here: How to stop an iPhone dropping Wi-Fi connection. FIXED IN iOS 16.1.1
• Some notes won’t sync with iCloud after updates are made. FIXED IN iOS 16.2
• As is often the case with a new operating system update, some users have complained of battery drain and other common issues, these issues are usually short-lived and relate to the re-indexing of data.
• Towards the end of September 2022, Apple published a support document that turning on the new iPhone keyboard vibration feature could cost battery life. Apple says, “Turning on keyboard haptics might affect the battery life of your iPhone.”
• In December iPhone users started to complain that they were seeing horizontal lines when their iPhone 14 Pro Max turns on. Apple has reportedly said the issue relates to software, not hardware. FIXED IN iOS 16.3.
• Issue where the wallpaper may appear black on the Lock Screen. FIXED IN iOS 16.3.
• Freeform strokes not appearing on shared boards. FIXED IN iOS 16.3.
• Issue where the Home Lock Screen widget does not accurately display Home app status. FIXED IN iOS 16.3.
• Issue where Siri may not respond properly to music requests. FIXED IN iOS 16.3.
• Issues where Siri requests in CarPlay may not be understood correctly. FIXED IN iOS 16.3.
• Messages and Photos bugs that could leave iOS vulnerable. FIXED IN iOS 16.3.
• People have been experiencing issues with the Weather app. Apple has acknowledged the issue, with Apple Support stating on Twitter on April 4 that it is “currently working on a solution for the Weather app outage and will post an update online.” Believed to be FIXED IN iOS 16.4.1 (or separate to that update).

iOS 16: How to get the latest version

Read this to find out how to install iOS 16 or an update to the operating system: How to update iOS on your iPhone. The short version is:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Software Update.
4. You’ll see the update available there, follow the prompts to install it.

If you don’t want to update straight away read: How to stop your iPhone from automatically updating to iOS 16.

When you visit the Software Update page on your iPhone you might see that iOS 15.7 is there to install and wonder where iOS 16 is. If you want iOS 16 you don’t need to install IOS 15.7 first, you can scroll down below the information about iOS 15.7 and tap on upgrade to iOS 16.

You don’t have to install iOS 15.7, you can jump straight to iOS 16.

It’s often the case that the initial new version of iOS is soon followed by a “point update” so you can expect to see iOS 16.0.1 in a week or so to clean up some bugs and prepare for the new iPhone 14. We also expect 16.1 to arrive in October when the iPad receives its update.

iOS 16: Compatibility

Which Apple devices can install iOS 16? Any from the past five years: anyone with an iPhone 8 or later will be able to run iOS 16. With the iPad, iOS 16 is compatible with all Pad Pro models, iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad (5th generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later).

That’s the headline but bear in mind that older devices may not get the full iOS 16 experience or every feature in iPadOS 16. Apple warns, for example, that the new Live Captions accessibility feature is available on iPhone 11 and later, while Door Detection and People Detection require the LiDAR scanner on the iPhone 12 Pro and later.

This is a big change from last year. At WWDC 2021, Apple announced that iOS 15 would run on very old models, such as the iPhone 6s (2015) and first-generation SE (2016). They’ve both dropped off the supported list, and the iPhone 7 is gone too. If you’ve got one of these iPhones, it may be time to upgrade.

iOS 16: Features

iOS 16 is a substantial upgrade. It doesn’t change everything about your iPhone, but it’s filled with fun new features, like these Five incredible iOS 16 features that will change the way you use your iPhone. Read on to find out more about the new features that will make your old iPhone feel fresh if you install it:

Features that arrived in iOS 16.4

• Apple Music Classical support.
• A Home architecture update.
• New emoji.
• Support for web push notifications.
• Changes for Beta testers.
• Update to the Podcasts app.
• New Wallet widget.
• Books page turning animation.
• Mastadon support.

Features that arrived in iOS 16.3

iOS 16.2 arrived in February 2023 and brought:

• Change to Emergency SOS calls to prevent accidental emergency calls.
• HomePod support for HomePod (2nd gen).
• Black Unity Apple Watch face.
• Advanced Data Protection for all users worldwide.
• Ability to secure your Apple ID with a FIDO-certified physical key and it will replace two-factor authentication for ‌Apple ID‌ logins

Features that arrived in iOS 16.2

iOS 16.2 arrived in December 2022 and brought:

• Apple Music Sing
• Freeform – new whiteboarding and collaboration app
• Game Center support for SharePlay, which will let you start playing a game right away while in a FaceTime call.

Features that arrived in iOS 16.1

These are the new features that arrived with the first major update to iOS 16.

iCloud Shared Photo Library

Apple has added a new way for family members and friends to share photos with each other called Shared Photo Library. It lets you and five people set up an album that you call control, with automated updates and sharing notifications. Learn more about how to set up a Shared Photo Library in our how-to article.

Live Activities

Live Activities is a new way of following sports games, Uber journey progress, workouts, and so on from the Lock Screen. You can think of them as notifications that persist and are dynamically updated by their associated apps. There are already numerous supported apps.

Wallet

The Wallet already had in-app ID verification: a handy option if you don’t want to share personal details with someone, but do need to prove to them that you are over 21, for example. In 16.1 Wallet gained the ability to share digital keys via Messages, Mail, or WhatsApp.

Matter support

Matter is a new and sorely needed smart-home compatibility standard covering Apple Home, Alexa, and Google Home, among others, and support for Matter is one of the changes coming to Apple’s Home app in iOS 16. There is still work to be done by manufacturers to get everything coordinated, but all devices support the new standard as of iOS 16.1.

Clean Energy Charging

On launch day, Apple announced a new feature called Clean Energy Charging that “aims to decrease the carbon footprint of the iPhone by optimizing charging times for when the grid is using cleaner energy sources.” You can find the toggle to turn it on in the Battery Health & Charging settings.

Features that arrived in iOS 16

Lock Screen

In iOS 16 Lock Screen is customizable (changing colors and fonts, for example) and upgradable with widgets for keeping an eye on the weather, your Activity rings, or whatever other information you need easy access to. And, rather like the faces on the Apple Watch, it will be possible to create multiple Lock Screens, each with its own wallpaper and widgets, and easily switch between them. See: All the ways you can customize your Lock Screen in iOS 16. We also look at how to keep your Lock Screen clean without missing a notification. New customization options arrived in iOS 16.1 so can now choose to customize the Home screen and Lock screen separately.

Battery percentage indicator

This might seem trivial, but a lot of iPhone users were deeply annoyed when the handy battery percentage indicator disappeared from the top of their device’s screen in 2017. (The notch on the iPhone X was the culprit, of course.) Those users will be pleased to hear that it’s the battery percentage indicator is coming back in iOS 16, albeit on certain devices only. Initially, the iPhone 11, iPhone XR, and the iPhone 12 mini and 13 mini don’t get this feature, but Apple addressed this in an update. We discuss how to show battery percentage in your iPhone status bar separately.

Notifications

The way these appear has been tweaked: they now roll in from the bottom of the screen, which seems like a more logical way to present them.

Focus

Your choice of Lock Screen, widgets, and Notification settings can now be tied to Focus modes. Apple suggests “a data-rich Lock Screen while you’re using the Work Focus or a photo Lock Screen while you’re using the Personal Focus.” By swiping to a particular Lock Screen, you can trigger the related Focus mode.

There are also now Focus Filters: If you’re in a work Focus mode, for example, you might choose to see only the Safari tabs that relate to a project you’re working on, or filter out irrelevant messages in Messages and Mail.

Dictation

Dictation improvements mean that dictation should be better than ever. We explain how to use the new dictation features in iOS 16 separately.

Improved Dictation supports using your voice and keyboard together to enter and edit text. You’ll be able to automatically add commas, periods, and question marks as you dictate and add emoji with your voice.

Audio support

AirPods (3rd generation), AirPods Pro (1st and 2nd generation) and AirPods Max will gain a new Personalized Spatial Audio feature that uses the TrueDepth camera on iPhone to create a personal profile for Spatial Audio that delivers a more precise and immersive listening experience.

Haptic keyboard

In iOS 16 iPhone keyboards will provide haptic feedback while you type. Keyboard haptics will use the Taptic Engine to produce a little “tick” feeling when you touch a key on the keyboard. To find out how to use the feature read: How to enable keyboard haptic feedback in iOS 16. Also read: iOS 16’s haptic keyboard is the best feature you haven’t found yet.

Live Text and Visual Look Up

Live Text now applies to video as well as still images. Pause a video and the text will become ‘live’ for copying or translating. Apple says Live Text is going to provide quicker access to translation and currency-conversion tools, too.

The related Visual Look Up feature–which was introduced in iOS 15 and uses AI to identify plants, animals, and landmarks in your photos–also gets an update. For a start, it can now recognize birds, insects, and statues as well. But separately, it can use that same AI to detect the edges of pictured objects and enable you to tap and hold to lift them out of a photo and into other apps such as Messages. Spot a cute dog in a photo? Snip it out and pop it in an iMessage so others can enjoy it too. See: How to instantly lift the subject out of nearly any image.

Siri

A new Easy Shortcuts setup makes it possible to run shortcuts with Siri as soon as you download an app with no upfront setup. You’ll can also send messages without Siri asking you to confirm before sending.

A new ability to ask “Hey Siri, what can I do here?” helps users discover Siri’s capabilities in iOS and apps. And you can end calls by saying: “Hey Siri, hang up.”

Search

Search on the Home Screen will enable Spotlight to be accessed directly from the bottom of the Home Screen, making it easy to open apps, find contacts, or get information from the web.

However, some people find the Home Screen Search button distracting, so we have this tutorial: How to remove the search button from your iPhone’s home screen.

Changes to apps

As usual, a number of changes will be coming to the included Apple apps, including:

Messages

There are three big changes in Messages. You can 1) edit, 2) unsend messages after they’re sent, and 3) mark any thread as Unread. Less momentously, there are lots of new visual elements for customizing your Memoji, including new hairstyles and headgear, nose shapes, and poses. Read How to edit and unsend text messages on your iPhone.

iOS 16.2 added improved search in Messages for finding photos based on their content, like a dog, car, person, or text.

Mail

New tools include scheduled sends and, very briefly, the ability to recall sent messages. Mail should detect and warn users of forgotten attachments, and there are new Remind Later and Follow Up features for nudging the user when either they or a recipient hasn’t responded to an email. See: How to edit and unsend messages on iPhone. We also cover how to edit and unsend emails on Mac.

Maps

New multi-stop routing supports adding up to fifteen stops along your driving route in Maps. It is also possible to see low balances and replenish Transit Cards when you add transit cards to Wallet, all without leaving Maps. And transit fares show you how much your journey will cost in the San Francisco Bay Area, London, New York, and San Diego.

Safari

In Safari, Shared Tab Groups let you share a set of tabs with others and see the Tab Group update instantly as you work together. Tab Group start pages can be customized with different background images and favorites for each Tab Group. Pinned tabs in Tab Groups enable you to pin frequently visited websites for each Tab Group.

Safari web page translation will add translation for web pages in Turkish, Thai, Vietnamese, Polish, Indonesian, and Dutch.

FaceTime

Handoff in FaceTime allows you to move FaceTime calls seamlessly from your iPhone to your iPad or Mac, and vice versa.

Memoji

Memoji gets more sticker poses, hairstyles, headwear, noses, and lip colors.

Quick Note

Quick Note adds support for taking a note in any app on your iPhone and adding links to create context and easily find content.

Home

A redesigned Home app arrived in iOS 16.2, it is easier to navigate, organize, view, and control your smart home accessories. The Home tab will integrate all your accessories, rooms, and scenes into a single tab for a whole-house view, allowing you to see your entire home at a glance. There will be categories for lights, climate, security, speakers and TVs, and water let you quickly access all the relevant accessories organized by room, and displays more detailed status information. And a new camera view displays up to four cameras front and center in the Home tab, scroll to see any additional camera views in your home.

Photos

Duplicate detection in Photos identifies duplicate photos so you can quickly clean up your library.

Plus the Foreground blur for portrait photos in Camera will blur objects in the foreground for a more realistic-looking depth-of-field effect (iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max).

Translate

You’ll can now translate text around you using the camera in the Translate app.

Reminders

Pinned lists help you quickly navigate to your favorite lists.

Apple Pay

Apple announced two new ventures here: Apple Pay Later (a method of paying in four equal payments over six weeks, available initially in the US only) and Apple Pay Order Tracking (which provides receipts and order tracking information in Wallet for purchases made using Apple Pay).

Health

A new medications feature helps you track and manage your medications, vitamins, and supplements by creating a list, custom schedules and reminders, and then viewing logging over time

You’ll be able to add medications using your iPhone camera (iPhone XS, iPhone XR, and later). Interaction alerts will inform you if there is a critical interaction when you add a new medication.

Cycle deviation notifications alert you if your logged menstrual cycles show a pattern of infrequent periods, irregular periods, prolonged periods, or persistent spotting.

You’ll be able to share information with loved ones – and they’ll be able to easily and securely share their health data with you.

News

My Sports enables you to easily follow your favorite teams and leagues and watch highlights right in the News app. Favorites will give you easy access to the channels and topics you read the most at the top of your Today feed. There is also a visually updated home page that will be easier to navigate, with topic feeds for local news locales, sports teams, and leagues.

Security features

As usual there are a number of changes that Apple is making to improve security and privacy, including:

Passkey

Passkeys offers support for an easier and safer sign‑in method to replace passwords.

Passkey syncing through iCloud Keychain makes your passkeys available across all your Apple devices while keeping them end-to-end encrypted.

Family Sharing

There is an improved child account setup to make it easier to create an account for a child with the right parental controls, including age‑appropriate media restrictions.

You’ll be able to use Quick Start to easily set up a new iOS or iPadOS device for your child with your selected parental controls in place.

Screen Time requests in Messages will make it even easier to approve or decline requests from your child.

Plus Family Checklist will give you tips and suggestions like updating a child’s parental control settings, turning on location sharing, or just reminding you to share your iCloud+ subscription with everyone.

Safety Check

This important privacy feature, designed to aid those experiencing domestic violence or similar issues, lets you monitor who you’ve granted access to your permissions, and revoke them easily. It can be used to reset system app privacy permissions, and to restrict Messages and FaceTime to the device you’re currently using.

Emergency reset lets users quickly take action to reset access across all people and apps, including disabling location sharing via Find My, resetting privacy permissions for apps, and more.

Accessibility

Door detection will locate a door, reads signs and symbols around it, and gives users instructions for how to open the door (iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro).

Apple Watch mirroring will provide full control of the Apple Watch from iPhone and supports the use of Switch Control, Voice Control, or any other assistive features on the iPhone to get the most out of an Apple Watch.

Live Captions (beta) automatically converts audio into text for users who are Deaf or hard of hearing to follow along more easily with calls and media content (iPhone 11 and later).

Buddy controller helps users with cognitive disabilities get support from a caregiver or friend while playing a game, by combining inputs from multiple game controllers into one.

VoiceOver will be available in over 20 new languages and locales, including Bangla (India), Bulgarian, Catalan, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

Voice Control spelling mode gives you the option to dictate names, addresses, or other custom spellings.

Miscellaneous changes and new features

These are the highlights of iOS 16’s new features set, but there are far more small tweaks that you’ll gradually discover after installing the OS in the fall. Some will only slightly massage your day-to-day experience, while others will hold hidden significance.

A change in the way firmware information is presented, for example may allow manual AirPods updates for the first time. Another new feature is the ability to verify your device and account in the background, without any need to deal with CAPTCHAs.

For more updates along these lines, we’ve rounded up the smaller features and changes that will make a big difference in how you use your iPhone.

If you’d like a broader exploration of the new capabilities coming to your iPhone this year, read our guide to the top new iOS 16 features, and our thoughts on the iOS 16 features you’ll actually use.

iOS

Some security products that offer both Windows and macOS versions seem to devote equal time and resources to both versions. Others more heavily favour the Windows version, leaving the Mac edition lacking certain features and options. Such is the case with F-Secure Total for the Mac, which seems to be a full-featured security program at first glance but isn’t quite on par with its Windows counterpart.

Installation

To use F-Secure Total, you can select one of the paid subscriptions right off the bat or go for the free 30-day trial, all of which prompt you to set up an account. The trial requires no credit card and even gives you free technical support if you need it. At the main screen, you’re asked if you want to add your own device, your child’s device, or someone else’s device. Choosing your own device or a child’s device then lets you download the macOS version of the software.

A wizard guides you through the installation and deposits you at the program’s main screen where you can review the different security features–Viruses & Threats, Password Vault, Privacy VPN, ID Monitoring, and Secure Browsing. The software also tries to help you by offering specific recommendations, such as setting up the password vault and turning on the VPN.

Features

Your first task will probably be to hunt for malware. Clicking the Scan button runs a full scan that checks your entire system. Clicking the link for Viruses & Threats takes you to another screen where you can scan just specific folders. Surprisingly, there are no options to run a quick scan or even to schedule a scan. (The Windows version does let you run a quick scan). Here, you’re also able to check for virus definition updates and submit a sample of an infected file to the company for analysis.

F-Secure provides real-time virus and spyware scanning to automatically block malware. You can exclude specific folders and files from the real-time scan and temporarily disable the scanning if it’s interfering with a software installation or other process.

To augment the regular virus scanning, F-Secure provides an option called DeepGuard, which monitors applications for any changes indicative of a malware infection. This option already includes many items in the list but you can add the names and locations of other applications to monitor.

Next, you may want to set up the ID monitoring to check your email address for data breaches among your online accounts. You can add as many as 10 addresses as well as other items, including a username, phone number, social security number, bank account number, credit card number, and passport number.

The VPN is another defense you’d likely want to enable, especially when using unprotected networks. By default, the VPN selects a location that provides the best possible connection. But you can switch to another location, including several across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. You’re also able to add your own personal network as a trusted one to allow access to local resources such as printers and scanners.

You can manually turn on the VPN or set it to activate whenever you log into your Mac. The VPN also includes tracking protection to prevent advertisers from monitoring your online activity and a kill switch to quickly cut off all internet traffic if the connection goes down. By default, F-Secure uses OpenVPN as the VPN protocol, which should suffice in most situations. You can also switch to OpenVPN (TCP) or IKEv2, both of which are briefly described in the program.

Next, an option for secure browsing allows you to install a browser extension that aims to block harmful webpages. The extension supports Safari, Google Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge (via the Chrome Web Store). With Secure Browsing active, the extension attempts to block phishing sites and other harmful pages. You can also tell it to block sites considered untrustworthy or those that contain prohibited content. Further, you’re able to manually add sites that you don’t want blocked and submit a sample URL that you believe is malicious.

Finally, F-Secure offers a password vault that creates and stores secure logins for all your accounts. To kick this off, you’re first asked to create your master password. Rather than enter this password each time you need to access the vault, you can instead use Touch ID on your MacBook.

To add your account logins, you import an existing list from Chrome, Firefox, Edge, LastPass, Dashlane, or another programs or manually create a login with the necessary username, password, and other details. An autofill option automatically enters your vault password at a stored site and will offer to save a password that you create. However, there’s no password suggestion option as is found in most password managers, so you have to devise your own complex passwords.

The required extension for the password vault officially supports Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. Safari isn’t yet supported, though F-Secure told me that this is in the works. The vault will also analyze your stored passwords to indicate which ones are strong, weak, or reused.

Performance

Browsing to the EICAR test virus website triggered a message that the site was considered harmful. Forging ahead by allowing access to the site, I tried downloading the eicar.com and eicar text files. Both were automatically removed but without any notification from F-Secure. I was able to download and extract the two eicar zip files. Upon extraction, the test malicious files in the archive were removed. A manual scan ultimately trashed the two zip files. Unfortunately, F-Secure doesn’t let you review blocked or deleted malicious files, and I couldn’t find any setting that would quarantine files instead of remove them.

A December 2022 review by AV-Test gave F-Secure SAFE for macOS a score of 4.5 out of 6 for protection and 5.5 out of 6 for usability.

Price & Availability

F-Secure Total costs $119.99/£99.99 for five devices, with the first year discounted to $69.99/£44.99. If you want to protect just one Mac, it’s $89.99/£69.99 ($59.99/£34.99 after the discount). 

This gives full access to iOS apps as well as the Mac ones, and of course Android and Windows ones as well if required, and the cross-device configuration is managed through F-Secure web accounts.

Depending upon how many Macs, or other devices, need protecting, F-Secure Total can be quite expensive. Don’t forget though that F-Secure Safe is available, and cheaper, if you don’t want the VPN or ID Protection. F-Secure has no issue with you protecting devices belonging to other people, although of course it’s all managed through your own account.

See alternatives in our roundup of the
best antivirus software for Macs.

Verdict

F-Secure for the Mac seems to have all the right components that would make it an effective product. But given that certain key options are missing or lacking and the program costs $59.99/£34.99 a year even with the discount for one device, the Mac version should be more capable and better designed.

Antivirus, Personal Software, Security

Macs may be a far less tempting target for malware and viruses, but they’re not immune from attack. Even if you don’t care about adware or being used as means to infect users on other platforms, it’s still possible to fall victim to ransomware, or password theft.

Accordingly, good antivirus for Mac software will protect your Mac on all of these fronts. It’ll catch malware that’s still spreading or in circulation; block ransomware; protect older systems with out-of-date software from security vulnerabilities; prevent your Mac from acting as a carrier for malware aimed at other operating systems; and keep infected files off of any virtual machines you’re running.

As to the question of which Mac antivirus software you should choose, our current top pick is Intego Mac Internet Security. However, you will find several other recommendations below that may suit you better, depending upon the type and number of devices that need protection and also how much you want to pay.

Our top contenders in our best Mac antivirus round up dominate by posting perfect (or virtually near perfect) scores from security research labs, passing our own malware detection tests with flying colors, offering well-designed interfaces, and even throwing in extra features like a firewall or password manager.

For some great discounts and deals see our best Mac antivirus deals round up.

Updated May 5, 2023 to update the F-Secure review.

Best antivirus for Mac reviews

Best Mac antivirus at a glance comparison

Here is an overview of the top Mac antivirus software tested above.

Developer

Product name

USB scan

Ransomware protection

Adware prevention

Anti phishing  protection

Email protection

Firewall

VPN

iOS version

Parental Controls

Support

Trial

Price

Intego

Internet Security X9

Y

Y

X

Y

X

Y

X

Y

Y

Y

7 days

$49.99/£49.99 / ye ($24.99/£20.99 /yr deal)

Clario

Antivirus 1.5 for Mac

Y

Y

Y

Y

X

X

Y

Y

X

Y

7 days

£107.88/£107.88 / ye (currently $50/£50 /ye); ($4.17/£4.17 / mo for a year, or $8.99/£8.99 /mo billed monthly)

AVG

AntiVirus for Mac

X

X

X

X

Y

X

X

Y

X

X

60 days

Free (Paid for version is $2.49 per month for one year / $2.39 a month for two-years / $2.29 a month for three-years)

Norton

360 Deluxe

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

30 days

$39.99/£34.99/yr

McAfee

Total Protection

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

30 days

$34.99/£34.99/yr

Avast

Premium Security

Y

Y

X

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

X

Y

60 days

$44.99/£39.99/yr

Bitdefender

Total Security

Y

Y

X

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

30 days

$39.97/£34.99/yr

Eset

Cyber Security Pro

Y

Y

X

Y

Y

Y

X

X

Y

Y

30 days

$49.95/£39.95/yr

Trend Micro

Antivirus for Mac

X

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

30 days

$39.99/£49.95

Avira

Prime

Y

Y

Y

Y

X

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

30 days

$99.99/£85.99

Do Macs need Mac antivirus software?

Plenty of Mac aficionados will tell you that Apple computers are inherently secure and don’t require protection. We’d argue that they are wrong – or overconfident, at the very least.

Not long ago, the Silver Sparrow malware was detected on Macs powered by the M1 processor and infected hundreds of thousands of Macs in total. The bad guys, then, are still very much targeting Mac users and they’re getting smarter and greedier. As a result, cyber security is something you can’t afford to ignore, and good Mac antivirus is a very good place to start if you want to stay safe.

Macs are generally more secure than their Windows brethren for two reasons. On the technical side, macOS is a Unix-based operating system. As a Unix-based operating system macOS is sandboxed.

Sandboxing is like having a series of fire doors: even if malware gains access to your Mac, it is unable to spread to other areas of the machine. They are more difficult to exploit than Windows PCs, but Macs are not unhackable.

More general advice can be found in our Mac security tips; and those who have been hit by a malware attack should try how to remove a virus from a Mac.

How to choose the best Mac antivirus

Features fundamental to all packages are two ways to find viruses: on-demand protection and via always-on protection. The former finds viruses by examining one file after another during scheduled scans, or when you choose to undertake a scan, perhaps because you’re worried your Mac might be infected. The speed at which the Mac antivirus app can do this is important, because some take a long time and also hog the Mac’s CPU while they do so. Waiting six hours to find out if your Mac is infected is neither convenient nor relaxing.

Always-on malware protection is what protects the user outside of the times when scans are run. If some malware arrives, perhaps via an email or a downloaded file, then the always-on protection should be able to detect it and either quarantine it (copy it to a safe folder so the user can decide what to do with it), or simply delete it. Usually a notification is shown when malware is detected in this way, but not all antimalware apps show the same amount of explanation of what’s happened – and this was one of the factors we examined in our testing.

Outside of direct malware detection, many security suites include additional tools such as ransomware protection. Ransomware is a type of malware that, once it’s infected a computer, encrypts all the user’s files and then demands a fee to decrypt them. To protect against this infection, anti-ransomware features typically block any app from writing to a user’s home folders, such as Documents or Photos, unless the app’s pre-approved (a process called whitelisting). Lots of apps come already pre-approved, of course, such as Microsoft Word, or Apple’s own Photos app. But you can add others.

Several products also include virtual private network (
VPN) add-ons. These protect an internet connection by encrypting it, and this is useful when utilising unsafe open WiFi such as that provided by a café or hotel. In our experience, these are not replacements for separate paid-for VPN services as many do not unblock video streaming services and some are cut-down versions which constantly nag you to pay extra for the full, premium versions.

Web protection via browser plugins or extensions is also a common component and aims to stop you (or your children) doing anything you regret online, such as visiting fake or infected websites or handing over personal information.

There are usually different options from each vendor, and you get more extras with the top packages, and far fewer with free ones. They might include password managers, parental controls, cloud storage – the list goes on. Generally, the underlying antimalware engine is the same in all products from the same company, so you can save money if you don’t need those additional features.

Do bear in mind that all antivirus for Mac apps are sold as yearly subscriptions. That’s right, you can’t just pay once and use forever. Often there’s a hefty discount for that first year’s subscription, but this can burn you when automatic renewal occurs a year later and the full retail price is charged: often 100% more. Alternatively, you can purchase several years’ subscriptions at once for a bigger discount.

Some of the best Mac antivirus subscriptions allow you to install the software on more than one computer (including Windows and Android devices), which can sometimes add significantly to the value – all computers, phones and tablets within a household can be protected with one subscription.

Spotting fake Mac antivirus software

Beware that, due to the fact that people are so concerned about malware threats on the Mac, there have been cases of malware disguising itself as an antivirus app, such as the Mac Auto Fixer pop-ups that appeared on some Macs suggesting that software needs to be installed (at a high price). This is similar to another fake antivirus app called MacDefender.

Another Mac antivirus company that is often thought of as unscrupulous is MacKeeper. In the past various reports have suggested it is a scam or at worst malware. In recent times MacKeeper has attempted to transform itself and leave its disreputability behind. It has, for example, gained Apple Notarization – which means the software is checked by Apple for malicious components. The company has also been working to get certifications from various bodies to prove it isn’t a PUP, including an AV-Test certificate. If you have any problems with MacKeeper we do explain how to remove it here: How to uninstall MacKeeper.

How we test Mac antivirus software

Each software package is evaluated creating a clean installation of macOS, cloning it for each AV product, and then booting separately into each one to install a different package. This was to ensure that previous app installations didn’t interfere with new ones – sometimes AV software treats other AV software as an infection.

In addition to visiting malicious websites, downloading known malicious software, and even running said malware on our Mac, we also reference the most recent reports from two labs that regularly cover macOS malware: AV Comparatives and AV-TEST. These laboratories test AV software against sets of known malware as well as products that are grouped as potentially unwanted applications (like adware).

The latter doesn’t damage or expose your computer or its files but may consume power and CPU cycles. Because the testing effectively looks at a combination of virus databases and behavior, they remain good gauges even after many months. When an antivirus for Mac software package lacks a rating from a known security research lab, we do more extensive testing with real malware.

Finally, while we gave props for a lot of different features and behaviors, we marked products down if they lacked any or all of the following:

• A nearly perfect score on macOS malware detection
• Ransomware monitoring
• Native browser plug-in or system-level Web proxy
• A high score on Windows malware detection

Privacy concerns

Using a Mac antivirus product, especially any that includes tools to also improve your online privacy, may lull you into believing you’re safe from personal and private information leaking out. That’s not quite the case. While there’s no reason to panic, you should consider a few reasonable issues.

First, an antivirus for Mac product may upload the complete text of files flagged to the cloud, where it can be analyzed by separate tools hosted there. This practice is normal and sensible: Some malware can detect when a running process may examine it, and will then engage in subterfuge. Antivirus software makers also can access their massive databases to examine files with characteristics that trigger their algorithms—certain elements that match known malware. As a result, security researchers discover new viruses, worms, Trojans horses, and the like.

However, helping the greater good means you’ll have to be comfortable with trusting a third-party with your file contents. Where appropriate, we noted privacy policy issues in individual reviews.

Second, this software may also rely partly or entirely on cloud-based checks of URLs, malware, and the like. Accordingly, an AV package might upload every URL you visit, metadata about files, signatures of files, information about your computer’s hardware, a list of running or installed applications, and more. Companies vary on their disclosure of such policies, and may not let you opt out of this kind of sharing. We note issues in each review as available.

Third, anti-virus software makers also get a sense of what behavior is happening on your computer that’s being monitored or blocked, and may use that information for their own purposes. In some cases, you can opt out of this information gathering.

Antivirus, Personal Software, Security

The first Thursday of May is World Password Day, a day to remind ourselves of the importance of making our digital lives more secure. For better or worse, just about everything we do is connected, online, and digital–our phones are car and house keys, every penny we have is behind a few banking passwords, and our entire jobs and reputations can be destroyed with access to just a couple social media accounts.

It’s more important than ever to ensure our accounts and digital devices are as secure as possible. But of course, security has to be convenient as well–you’re not going to type in a 45-character alphanumeric password every time you want to unlock your iPhone!

With that in mind, here are three straightforward tips to making sure your digital life is more secure. Some can be done in minutes, others may take some time to set up but will be fast and convenient after you do, but all of them will help make sure you don’t end up with a disaster on your hands.

Use complex, unique passwords

Every security expert will tell you that the biggest problem isn’t that hackers are super skilled, it’s that they don’t have to work very hard most of the time because people use bad passwords and the same passwords for multiple things.

Just look at the most common passwords for 2022:

1. password
2. 123456
3. 123456789
4. guest
5. qwerty

It takes no skill or ingenuity to guess one of those in seconds. You should also not use your children’s birthdays, anniversaries, a pet’s name, or any other set of numbers or words that is associated with your real life.

Instead, experts say to use long passwords made of multiple words together–a pass phrase, if you will. Something like super-sonic-headphones or walter-white-is-heisenberg is a lot harder for a computer to crack than vNe3R#1! because brute-force password cracking gets much harder as the password gets longer, not stranger.

You should also use a different password for every single account you have, without exception. Huge lists of stolen passwords are frequently sold and traded among hackers, where they are then checked against millions of sites and services. If one of your accounts is compromised and you change the password, you can bet that same password will be tried on many other sites and services for years to come.

Using long, complex passwords that are different for every account you have is a huge pain–you’ll never remember them all. That’s where password managers come in! They help you store and fill in passwords across all your devices and can fill in things like address and payment forms too. Check our list of the best password managers for our recommendations—or you can use the one built into your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. A good password manager makes your life easier and more secure and is well worth the time to set up.

Take advantage of biometrics

Biometric password features like Face ID and Touch ID are not foolproof, but they’re much harder to crack than a string of six numbers, and they’re much more difficult to sell and trade around than big lists of passwords.

You should change your iPhone or iPad passcode to a real password, and make it a good one, then use Face ID or Touch ID to avoid having to type it in all the time. Do this wherever possible: Use big complex unique passwords for your main password manager, for example, and let Face ID or Touch ID do the hard work of unlocking it for you.

Apple, Microsoft, and Google have joined together to allow the use of biometric logins without passwords across their sites and services. This initiative, called Passkey, has been supported in Apple devices since macOS 13 and iOS/iPadOS 16 and is starting to be used across other sites and services. You can now log in to your Google account with Passkey, for example.

Secure every account with 2FA where possible

Two-factor Authentication (2FA), also called Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), is when you have to supply a password and something else–a short one-time use code sent to you via text message or generated by a special app, or a fingerprint or face scan, for example.

These are really great ways to secure your account. Any time your password is correctly entered on a new device (such as when a hacker tries to use it), you must enter a code sent to you via text or generated with an app. The code can only be used once and is valid for a very short time. So even if a hacker steals or guesses your password, they’re not likely to be able to get into your account.

Using SMS (texts) for this is commonplace and handy because it doesn’t require an app, but SIM-jacking and other techniques can sometimes allow hackers to target individuals and access their texts, making this less secure than using a 2FA app like Auth, Google Authenticator, or Duo Mobile.

Apple has its own 2FA system for your Apple ID, which you should definitely have enabled since many Apple services require it. Here’s how to set up 2FA with your Apple ID. You’ll want to enable 2FA on every other account you have, especially bank accounts and accounts where you can make purchases (like game services). Check out our guide to getting started with 2FA for more.

And if you want the utmost security, you can lock down your Apple ID with a security key if you’re running iOS 16.3 or macOS Venture 13.2 or later. Instead of a code, you’ll have a physical key (two actually) that stores your authentication and is impossible to steal or spoof remotely.

Security