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Regarding iCloud accounts, Apple seems to be forcing the usage of phone numbers for 2FA and account recovery without an option to disable it. I switched from an
by ploggingdev 9y ago
Regarding iCloud accounts, Apple seems to be forcing the usage of phone numbers for 2FA and account recovery without an option to disable it. I switched from an Android device to an iPhone recently and was asked to setup an iCloud account. I went through the setup process and realized that my phone number was setup as a 2nd factor with no option to disable it [0]. For all the talk about Apple devices being the most secure, not many people seem to be complaining about how Apple forces a phone number as a 2nd factor + account recovery method. Most people backup very personal data to their iCloud accounts and forcing users to use a phone number for 2FA and account recovery is ridiculous. IMO Google gets 2FA right : I can setup a Yubikey + Authenticator + backup codes and remove my phone number as a 2FA method. And I also realized that there's no way to delete an iCloud account. I assumed all the big companies will have an option to delete accounts. I hope there's a law mandating all online accounts need to have a clearly defined lifecycle with an option to delete accounts and personal data if users want to.
(First time using an Apple device, so I might be misunderstanding the 2FA situation, correct me if I'm wrong.)
[0] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204915 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204915
- walterbell 9y agoYou don’t need to use iCloud. Backups can be done locally.
- ploggingdev 9y agoIIRC I wasn't able to download or update apps from the app store without an iCloud account, so an iCloud account is not really optional. Regarding backups, I've disabled all backups to iCloud and upload photos, videos to a google account since I can't directly transfer files to a linux pc.
- walterbell 9y agoYou can. The Apple account needed for the App Store is independent of iCloud. You can create this account on the apple website, then use it to sign into the device (separately from iCloud). Just say no to all requests which ask for iCloud signon, during device setup. You can directly transfer files to a Linux PC (via SFTP, WebDav, SMB) with iOS apps like Transmit, Coda, GoodReader, Briefcase and others.
- ploggingdev 9y agoEven if I don't use iCloud, the Apple ID forces me to use a phone number for 2FA and account recovery right? https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204915 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204915 Thanks for the app suggestions, will try them.
- walterbell 9y agoLooks like it: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2017/7/10/15946642/two-factor-authentication-online-security-mess https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2...
- thisacctforreal 9y agolibimobiledevice supports the native iOS backup protocol, including encryption, with the idevicebackup2 command. http://www.libimobiledevice.org/ http://www.libimobiledevice.org/
- walterbell 9y agoLooks promising, thanks. No mention of iOS 11 support on the front page, is that under development?
- mr_toad 9y agoThe SMS doesn’t seem to work reliably where I am. Fortunately it also uses iMessage if you have a device that can receive them.
- BillinghamJ 9y agoYour Apple ID can be permanently and completely deleted - you just need to contact their support to arrange it.