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Do you password-protect your iPhone? (poll)

Do you dance the four-tap tango every time you turn on your phone? Or do you think passcodes are an unnecessary hassle? Vote in our poll!

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET

Last Friday, CNET's Matt Elliott showed you how to set a stronger iPhone passcode. Today, over at Lifehacker, there's a report suggesting that repeating one number in your four-digit PIN makes for better protection than a PIN consisting of unique numbers.

My question for you: do you use password protection at all?

I don't. Because I work from home and my iPhone is so rarely out of my sight, I'm not that concerned about someone walking off with it. (And if they do, I can always wipe it remotely using Find My iPhone.)

What if I lose the phone? Assuming some honest person finds it, he or she won't be able to bypass the passcode screen to find the "AAA If Found" entry at the top of my address book. So much for getting it back!

Also, if I'm in an accident, the EMTs can't access my ICE (In Case of Emergency) app or address-book entry. So much for notifying my loved ones!

I'm not arguing against passcodes; these are just my reasons for declining to use one. For what it's worth, I keep all sensitive information inside a password manager. You gotta have some kind of security. (But there's one feature I insist on; read for details.)

Am I alone in thinking passcodes are an unnecessary hassle, at least for some users? Vote in our poll, then hit the comments to share your thoughts on iPhone security.