The most commonly used iPhone passcode is 1234 and 0000 is the second most commonly used iPhone passcode. This sounds crazy to start with and turns to creepy if we have to think about how this data was even collected. Don’t worry you are in safe hands of Big Brother. Of course, there would be many more iPhones out there with no security code. I have activated my passcode two days ago, just to keep the phone away from peeping toms. My passcode isn’t 1234 or anything in the top 10 list. That’s a relief.
iOS developer Daniel Amitay, the creator of iPhone security app Big Brother Camera has somehow captured 204, 508 passcodes and charted out the top 10 passcodes used. Here’s what it looks like.
Naturally, 1234 is the most common passcode: mimicking the most common internet passwords. To put this into perspective, these 10 codes represent 15% of all passcodes in use. Most of the top passcodes follow typical formulas, such as four identical digits, moving in a line up/down the pad, repetition. 5683 is the passcode with the least obvious pattern, but it turns out that it is the number representation of LOVE (5683), once again mimicking a very common internet password: “iloveyou.”
How did Amitay capture these passcodes? Don’t worry these aren’t iPhone passcodes per se but the passcodes used to unlock the app Big Brother Camera. The big assumption here is people use the same passcodes for unlocking their iPhone too. An assumption with which you can neither agree nor disagree. In addition to 1234’s people also use years – birth or otherwise as their passcodes. 199x is the most common year (passcode).
Here’s a tip for a better passcode :
Formulaic passwords are never a good idea, yet 15% of all passcode sets were represented by only 10 different passcodes (out of a possible 10,000). The implication? A thief (or just a prankster) could safely try 10 different passcodes on your iPhone without initiating the data wipe. With a 15% success rate, about 1 in 7 iPhones would easily unlock–even more if the intruder knows the users’ years of birth, relationship status, etc.
Hit the link to find out more about heat maps and other interesting facts.
Via TNW
