Two-factor authentication (2FA), ormultifactor authentication, is a great way to secure your accounts. Sure, it’s an extra step when you want to log into your accounts, but it provides another layer of protection between your online accounts and malicious individuals.
The problem with 2FA is the abundance of codes we get sent through text messages all the time. These end up cluttering our Messages app, making it hard to find recent texts from people we actually want to converse with. Thankfully, Apple has added a feature iniOS 17that lets you automatically delete those 2FA messages once they’re used, saving you a bunch of annoying clutter and keeping your Messages app nice and clean.
How do you enable this setting in iOS 17? Here’s everything you need to know about the feature and how to enable it.
How to automatically delete 2FA codes on iPhone and iPad
One of the most remarkable features added to iOS in the last few years is the option to input 2FA codes when you receive one automatically. Instead of remembering the code or copying and pasting it, iOS automatically detects it and lets you input it with a single tap. However, the code would sit in your text message bin after using it, creating an extra step for you. Sure, it’s the very definition of a first-world problem, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying.
With the launch of iOS 17 (and iPadOS 17), Apple added a game-changing option to delete these messages automatically once you use it. The important thing to note is that you must use Apple’s built-in auto-fill feature for it to delete the messages automatically, as that’s how the OS knows you’ve used the code. If you type it in manually or copy and paste, iOS cannot know you’ve used it, and the message will stick around.
If you want to enable the feature, here’s what you need to do:
Once enabled, you won’t have to worry about 2FA codes clogging up your inbox again. It’s a small change, but one that’s absolutely worth taking the time to do because keeping things tidy is nice.
How to ensure you have iOS 17
Before you can turn this feature on, you’ll need iOS 17 oriPadOS 17. You don’t need to have the beta of iOS 17.3 or anything like that, so as long as you have some OS version that starts with 17, you’ll be good to go. If you try the steps above and don’t see the Clean Up Automatically option, you might have an older version of IOS. Here’s how to check and update your iPhone or iPad:
If you don’t have iOS 17, here’s what you need to do to update:
If you’ve done both of those steps and your phone still isn’t letting you get iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, then you may have a device that doesn’t support iOS 17 because it’s too old. Here are all iPhone and iPad devices that support the latest software version:
If your iPhone or iPad isn’t on that list, you won’t be able to get iOS 17 and will not be able to have your 2FA codes deleted automatically. You’ll need toupgrade to a newer iPhone or iPadif you want to try out the latest features added by Apple in recent updates. As much as we love classic iPhone models like the iPhone 6 and iPhone 8, there comes a time when you need to grab a more current phone, both for new features and the security updates that come with more recent devices. After all,new iPhones even let you repair them yourself, which is a nice bonus.
