Your phone contains all of your most sensitive data. If someone else gets their hands on it, they can gain access to all of your private information, including your whereabouts and more. Your PIN number is the first defence against prying eyes.
A PIN number can’t prevent your phone from getting stolen, but the loss of your phone should be the least of your worries. You should already have insurance for theft of your mobile phone, and can claim and get a replacement. Once your data is out, however, there is no putting it back in the box.
The problem is that a PIN number needs to be both memorable and impossible to decipher. 123456 is memorable but the first thing a thief will try. A random combination like 839284 will never be figured out, but you can easily forget it.
There are ways to choose a PIN for your phone that is safe without being tough to remember. Use these 5 tips to choose a new PIN.
1. Go with a 4-digit PIN
This is a controversial piece of advice. In theory, going with a 6-digit PIN is far more secure than choosing a 4-digit PIN. A 4-digit PIN has 10,000 potential combinations, while a 6-digit PIN has around a million! However, that does not necessarily make your PIN less likely to be guessed.
The issue comes from the fact that remembering a 6-digit PIN is significantly more difficult than remembering 4 digits. Therefore, many people who choose 6-digit PINs end up going with a memorable combination.
Rather use a 4-digit PIN that is more random but easy to remember. The chances of someone figuring it out are low, as long as you avoid certain combinations.
2. Avoid the most common combinations
Avoiding the most common combinations may seem easy, but something you may think is uncommon might actually be regularly used. For example, you may use a pattern you see in the figures, but others may notice that pattern as well and have the same idea. You can look at the most common combinations to avoid them, and Apple will tell you if you are using a common combination.
There are only so many times a person can guess the PIN on your phone, and so once you have avoided these numbers, they're not going to figure it out.
3. Don’t use personal information
A popular choice is to use personal information like your date of birth, house number, or a year that was significant to you. It feels safe, as the people who know this information are not the ones you fear will steal your data.
However, in 2022 it is far too easy to find this type of information online if you know where to look. Assume that if anyone knows this piece of information, it is at risk.
4. Come up with a cypher
Remembering numbers is easier for some people than for others. What do you do if you need your PIN to be memorable? One option is to come up with a cypher.
For example, you can use your date of birth or your anniversary and add 3 to each number. So, the year 2004 becomes 5337. Someone who knows your birth date would have to be extremely lucky to guess this cypher, but for you to remember your birthday plus 3 is simple.
5. Use a word
Finally, you can go the route that someone choosing a phone number in the early 2000s would take. Choose a word and pick the numbers that represent it on the keypad. Make sure to choose an uncommon word that you will easily remember nonetheless. Before using it, check that the number combination it makes is not one of the common combos.
The above tips will help you choose a PIN which is secure but which you won’t easily forget. It is imperative that your PIN can actually keep people out of your phone.
