After you installed the latest update for your iPhone, did you wake up to an unprecedented number of alerts warning you that not only was the password for your most favourite apps compromised – but also that they appeared in a data leak? It would have looked a little like this:

Under each security notification, the following text* appears:

“This password has appeared in a data leak, which puts this account at high risk of compromise. You should change your password immediately.”

*for some reason, the screen cap does not include the text…

Well I woke up to this today – and after some sleepy sleuth-work I realised Apple must have accidentally reset their password security check system. All of a sudden it was looking way back in time and finding instances of email/password combinations long forgotten and changed. So, if this happens to you, click through – check the password/email combo and if it’s in current use – change it – otherwise, curse quietly under your breath and try not to get too existential about how how these devices that were once heralded as helpful tools to boost our memory and productivity have now turned into life-altering screens that control our behaviour.