Password protect Mail on iPad

Hi Pete,

I had a quick look at the link (thanks very much for posting it), and although it is a little confusing the way he has described it / set it up, it is along similar lines to what I ended up doing, which is to set up another web based email account and (here is where I differed from the guy in the article) I now forward all my emails to there. As that article says, some accounts let you have multiple "send-from" addresses (like the one I chose), so it still appears like you are using your normal email address. That way all my emails are web based, and so password protected. It is a pain nonetheless, as you have the added passage of having to sign into the internet, and use more data whilst using your email, and of course you can't access all your old emails, but at least it is a secure way of accessing your email. I just wish Apple would introduce the option of being able to password protect Mail, and I really just don't understand why they don't. I know there have been a lot of discussions about this on here, mostly along the lines of multi-user / single-user lines, but the whole point of Apple is flexibility (I think), so why not have the option, so that those who see it as multi-user can password protect, and those that see it as single-user don't need to. Simple as that.

Hi Dah*veed,

No, I can't, as I am sure you know, but I wish I could there too. I sometimes give my computer to my nephews etc to play with and would rather have the possibility to protect my mail from curious eyes.

Hi TacNinja24,

I have, but in order for someone else to use your computer, you have to put the password in, then once open, they can access anything they want, can't they. So unless you are going to stand over their shoulder the whole time you use it, you are no better protected.

I sometimes give my computer to my nephews etc to play with and would rather have the possibility to protect my mail from curious eyes.

But you can. Mac and Windows computers have multi-user operating systems. All that you need to do to allow your nephews to use your computer without access to your email or other private data is to create a user account for them. You can even use parental control to tie down what they can and cannot access on the account that you create for them.

That is the difference between muti-user operating systems like OS X and Windows and single-user operating systems like iOS.

You're quite right, Dah*veed, I had forgotten about the possibility of setting up other user accounts on the Mac. Still, my main concern is the iPad, because since I bought it, no one has asked to use my computer, but many have asked to use the iPad.

Which sort of points to you lot beating a dead horse. Apple designs and sells what it wants to design and sell. Very little about what users have to say about Apple's products has any influence on Apple since the company began.

Hi rjo98,

And I really, really don't see why they don't - I mean, isn't Apple all about individualism and choice? So why not offer the individuality and choice to the consumer as to whether they treat their iPad as a multi- or single-user gadget. But maybe you hit the nail on the head - they want you to buy more of them. Seems a very out-dated attitude, and certainly not user-friendly. I love Apple products, and I wouldn't swap them for androids or PCs or anything else, but I really do wish they would sort this one out.

That may be true Dah*veed, but surely it's better to feedback to Apple than to simply sit and complain on various forums - you certainly can't achieve anything by staying silent. Maybe eventually, if enough people complain, they will listen. Or, as rjo98 said, the Android market will take notice and act, and then Apple will be more tempted to fight back to stay ahead of the game.

As a bill-paying adult I share an iPad with children in my house. I have found the LastPass app with "premium" service at $12/year solves this need nicely. LastPass on iOS is the Safari browser engine (a WebKit web view) with automatic fill-in features. The app options allow me to set a PIN to launch the app or to re-enter the app from the multi-task bar. So I can browse Gmail or other web email sites, visit my bank web site, etc. and LastPass will fill in my credentials. As soon as I leave the app, nobody else can get back to it unless they know the PIN.

Hi,

rjo98's question is absolutely legitimate and I find that most of Dah-veed had to say was totally preposterous at best and of bad faith at worst. On the iPhone5 (6.0.2), here's the situation:

1. I can lock "myself" out e.g. of Safari - the icon simply disappears, and to bring it back I must give my code. This implies two things, namely

- Apple does know how to do that triviality, but just wouldn't for Mail

- Apple does want me to share my "personal" device with others (e.g. my family)

2. I can NOT do the same for Mail

3. All the recipes proposed above do NOT work for professional (i.e. NOT Gmail etc.) mail, because disabling the account really makes it disappear altogether and I need to input all the settings (server etc.) again to access the account - too much of a hassle

4. No third-party app that would offer the functionality seems to be available (and I would be willing to pay!) which, given the huge popular demand, means they must have all been blocked by Apple.

All of which simply means Apple do NOT want the Mail protected in ANY reasonable way on these devices, and the only reason I can see for that (if we put aside the idea they really want to offer a bad product) must be what Quilps2 said above, namely that they hope your wife and children will force you to dish out for more of the stuff. And sadly, it also means that asking Apple for the functionality will go nowhere (sorry for the Hope, it just died).

So the only interesting question that remains is whether this might backfire on Apple or not. I have to say that the iPhone is a nice device... but for THIS SINGLE REASON I have already recommended Androids for my emplyees.

1european, it is peculiar that mail seems to be the one function we cannot find in a PIN-protected app on the iPad. Evernote offers PIN protection for your notes. Toodeldo offers PIN protection for your tasks. LastPass offers PIN protection for web browsing. Why is mail missing?

Sinister strategy on the part of Apple may be the answer. However, I would not embrace that theory until I could see evidence of a frustrated mail app developer being rejected by Apple as she tries to give the world PIN-protected mail. Show me that blog post and I will accede to the evil Apple notion. Absent that, I still have hope that the market simply hasn't yet met the need.

You mentioned employees. You are probably aware that PIN-protected email can be had through container application environments, or "sandboxes," often used by larger corporations. These provide completely separate sets of apps, and offer far more than PIN protection if the security of your corporate data warrants it. See good.com or LRW Pinecone.

But if you are waiting on a simple App Store solution, so am I, and so are many others who follow this thread. Sounds like a great business opportunity for an iOS developer somewhere!