Apple ID Can Be Locked With a Physical Key in iOS 16.3

Last year, Apple made known that it was enhancing the security of its products and online accounts. Encrypted iCloud backups were enabled in the most recent update for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and now iOS 16.3 and macOS Ventura 13.2 have arrived with a new feature. Currently, Apple is pushing out iOS 16.3 for iPhones and macOS Ventura 13.2 for Macs; an update for the iPad is soon to follow. Support for security keys with Apple ID is the biggest new feature, which was first mentioned back in December. You can now choose to use a hardware security key in place of merely other Apple devices or SMS messages for two-factor authentication. As a further measure of stringent security, you can even make the key necessary for logging onto a new device. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Photo Credit: Apple World Today[/caption] In December, Apple stated: "This functionality is designed for people who, frequently owing to their public image, face concerted threats to their online accounts, such as celebrities, journalists, and government officials. By requiring a hardware security key as one of the two requirements for users who choose to participate, Security Keys improves Apple's two-factor authentication. This strengthens the security of our two-factor authentication by making it impossible for even highly skilled hackers to gain a user's second factor through phishing. Support for hardware security keys has long been a feature of popular services like Google, Microsoft, GitHub, and others. Although the company anticipates the majority of customers to continue using other Apple devices for login confirmations, it's nice to see Apple finally jump on board. A wallpaper honoring Black History Month, support for the new HomePod, and a number of bug fixes are also included in the iOS 16.3 update.