Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: How are you managing aging relatives passwords?

news.ycombinator.com

1–10 of 15 posts

Re: Ask HN: How are you managing aging relatives passwords?

#3
post #2

I recommend they get a physical key (yubikey), it's more intuitive or natural for the pre-digital-first generations

Recommend two, one for them, one for you. Add both to all accounts. Upon death, you won't have to search for theirs.

Re: Ask HN: How are you managing aging relatives passwords?

#5
post #2

I recommend they get a physical key (yubikey), it's more intuitive or natural for the pre-digital-first generations

Recommend two, one for them, one for you. Add both to all accounts. Upon death, you won't have to search for theirs.

good call on the two, I actually have two personally, one for primary email, one for all the other logins, so now we are at four keys

Re: Ask HN: How are you managing aging relatives passwords?

#6
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Recommend two, one for them, one for you. Add both to all accounts. Upon death, you won't have to search for theirs.

good call on the two, I actually have two personally, one for primary email, one for all the other logins, so now we are at four keys

Passkeys are also fine imho, I use Apple Passwords and share passkeys with various groups (partner, immediate family, extended family) for various systems, depending on access audience.

Also, consider a legacy contact if you're in the Apple ecosystem. For those who rely on me as an unofficial trustee and guardian, I have them add me as their legacy contact, and I then print out multiple copies of the legacy contact key page, laminate it, and distribute it physically (it's a one page QR code with some details on it). It can also be bound between Apple accounts. A death certificate will be required to access a legacy contact.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/102631

https://support.apple.com/en-us/103128

Re: Ask HN: How are you managing aging relatives passwords?

#7
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

good call on the two, I actually have two personally, one for primary email, one for all the other logins, so now we are at four keys

Passkeys are also fine imho, I use Apple Passwords and share passkeys with various groups (partner, immediate family, extended family) for various systems, depending on access audience. Also, consider a legacy contact if you're in the Apple ecosystem. For those who rely on me as an unofficial trustee and guardian, I have them add me as their legacy contact, and I then print out multiple copies of the legacy contact k…

I refuse to use any biometric based auth, so passkeys are a nope for me

laminated physical backup codes, you are a hero among peasants friend!

Re: Ask HN: How are you managing aging relatives passwords?

#8
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Passkeys are also fine imho, I use Apple Passwords and share passkeys with various groups (partner, immediate family, extended family) for various systems, depending on access audience. Also, consider a legacy contact if you're in the Apple ecosystem. For those who rely on me as an unofficial trustee and guardian, I have them add me as their legacy contact, and I then print out multiple copies of the legacy contact k…

I refuse to use any biometric based auth, so passkeys are a nope for me laminated physical backup codes, you are a hero among peasants friend!

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: How are you managing aging relatives passwords?

#9
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Passkeys are also fine imho, I use Apple Passwords and share passkeys with various groups (partner, immediate family, extended family) for various systems, depending on access audience. Also, consider a legacy contact if you're in the Apple ecosystem. For those who rely on me as an unofficial trustee and guardian, I have them add me as their legacy contact, and I then print out multiple copies of the legacy contact k…

I refuse to use any biometric based auth, so passkeys are a nope for me laminated physical backup codes, you are a hero among peasants friend!

You don't need biometric authentication for passkeys, though.

Re: Ask HN: How are you managing aging relatives passwords?

#10
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I refuse to use any biometric based auth, so passkeys are a nope for me laminated physical backup codes, you are a hero among peasants friend!

You don't need biometric authentication for passkeys, though.

every prompt to set it up indicates otherwise, they really really want you to set up biometric auth, however the gov't can make you provide biometric unlock, whereas they cannot compel a password or real "passkey" (pin)
Post reply on HN