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JediKnife

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 18, 2020
59
77
Hi All,
I will soon be getting a new iPad, and I want to use it for mainly reading, web browsing and watching videos when I’m around the house. I tend to be a little cautious about security and I don’t really like the idea of having another device sitting around with access to everything my iPhone has access to. My question is does anyone else here restrict their iPads from things like email accounts and banking stuff or other sensitive info? And if so, do you still feel like you get enough functionality from using it as opposed to just using your iPhone exclusively? I think I will like using this as it will hopefully save a little wear on my iPhone but would still like to have some basic integration with my Apple account for Books and game synchronization, and Find My of course. I know they are pretty secure but even with my iPhone set up with all security on and even some redundancy things I do, I would still hate for my iPhone to get stolen (especially because of the info stored on it), and I just don’t want to have kind of the same feeling about my iPad being a security liability, since I won’t carry it around like my iPhone.
Thanks for any input; looking forward to it.
 

Apple_Robert

Contributor
Sep 21, 2012
35,630
52,388
In a van down by the river
What I do is secure most of the apps I use with using the Face ID / Touch ID requirement. That way, if someone (family, friend, or stranger) were to pick up one of my iPads, said person would not be able to browse the web, get access to the camera or photos, Apple Notes, Reminders, Calendar, and several other apps.


You should consider doing the same.

 
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BigBlur

macrumors 6502a
Jul 9, 2021
821
960
What I do is secure most of the apps I use with using the Face ID / Touch ID requirement. That way, if someone (family, friend, or stranger) were to pick up one of my iPads, said person would not be able to browse the web, get access to the camera or photos, Apple Notes, Reminders, Calendar, and several other apps.


You should consider doing the same.

They can still use a passcode though. If someone knows your passcode to unlock the iPad, they'll still be able to get into these apps too. This is more for when you unlock the iPad/iPhone and hand it to someone else to use (that doesn't know your passcode).
 

Apple_Robert

Contributor
Sep 21, 2012
35,630
52,388
In a van down by the river
They can still use a passcode though. If someone knows your passcode to unlock the iPad, they'll still be able to get into these apps too. This is more for when you unlock the iPad/iPhone and hand it to someone else to use (that doesn't know your passcode).
I use a long alphanumeric passcode that I don’t share or show to anyone else so, the risk is minuscule.
 
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chown33

Moderator
Staff member
Aug 9, 2009
10,996
8,887
A sea of green
If you can use Family Sharing on Books, then one possible approach is to give the iPad a new distinct AppleID, which happens to be a "family member" with your main Apple ID. This would let you share content, while keeping separate accounts. I doubt this would work for game scores, but I don't game so I'm not sure.

Under the new account, the simplest way to be secure is to not enter any compromisable data, such as bank accounts, etc. Furthermore, don't even install any banking apps, or any app that doesn't have an immediate reason for being on the iPad.

The new Apple ID will have its own email accounts. If you want to, you can forward some emails to the new account. You can even setup iCloud Mail rules that automatically forward certain emails. The available rules are limited, but forwarding is an available action.

You can further limit what the new Apple ID can do by not storing a credit card for it. If you want to have some funds, buy an Apple Gift Card from your main acct and redeem it under the secondary acct.

All of this is in addition to the usual security features, like restricting purchases, locking apps, etc.

The key part of this approach is isolation. Isolate the accounts as much as practical. You can even do all the account setup before buying an iPad, which will let you test things and see if they're workable for you.
 
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Daytona 360

macrumors regular
Apr 29, 2010
128
77
Just login to iCloud on the iPad and turn off every iCloud feature except Find My and Books?
 

cupcakes2000

macrumors 601
Apr 13, 2010
4,035
5,425
This is precisely why iPads need user accounts.

Your iPhone linked account can be secured along with sensitive apps, behind a strong code. A user with a well known passcode for family and friends with whatever apps you want.
 

GusBougadis

macrumors member
Sep 25, 2024
57
49
You can lock your banking information in apple password app or use Apple notes and set up FaceID , Touch ID to keep your notes secure. It’s as pretty safe as you can get.
 

cupcakes2000

macrumors 601
Apr 13, 2010
4,035
5,425
You can lock your banking information in apple password app or use Apple notes and set up FaceID , Touch ID to keep your notes secure. It’s as pretty safe as you can get.
It’s not as ‘safe as you can get’. Anyone (family member, friend whomever) who you wish to let use your iPad, has easy access- assuming they have the passcode which would be necessary for proper shared access. I know that’s not the op’s use case, but it’s along a similar vein. It’s a massive issue when trying to lockdown a device which you want in the ecosystem but don’t want to share absolutely everything between devices. Locking apps with faceID is useless if anyone with a passcode can just bypass it. There’s almost no point. It’s not locked other than for you and why would you need it locked if you’re using it?

With a user system you can lock it all away with a strong passcode and just have the basics at easy access. It’s one of the major issues I have with the iPad.
 

01cowherd

macrumors newbie
Sep 20, 2024
22
31
I just don’t want to have kind of the same feeling about my iPad being a security liability, since I won’t carry it around like my iPhone.
Where are you leaving your iPad that you’re more concerned about your iPad than your iPhone? I’m personally more concerned about forgetting my iPhone somewhere, someone swiping it out of my hand or pocket, or a mugging than my iPad being stolen out of my house. (Not that any of those are likely.)

Do you have a specific concern? Functionally, losing your iPad or losing your iPhone is nearly the same thing if you have them set up the same way, with your iPhone additionally receiving your SMS/phone calls and maybe having a physical SIM card that could be used to take your phone number.

My iPad and iPhone are near clones of each other, and if I lost either, I would take the same actions: mark as lost and erase the device in Find My.
Just login to iCloud on the iPad and turn off every iCloud feature except Find My and Books?
If someone is able to bypass the Lock Screen, they could turn all those features back on and sync everything down.
 
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