Apple keeps on trying to convince or trick me into "choosing" "two-factor" ID, so that I would have to fetch my cell phone after inputting my password. Apple repeatedly asks me to convert my phone to "two-factor" ID. More absurdly it keeps trying to convince me to switch a family member's phone over, without their knowledge, when I try to locate my wife's or son's phone. Why more absurdly; if the phone is lost it makes the "Help a Friend" factor useless. And with phones themselves, I cannot imagine the havoc that would cause. The question is "why"? Is there some techno-genius doing this or is part of the modern trend to make things "not work?"
People are generally terrible at creating and securing effective passwords and so Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is much typically more secure. I'm not an Apple user but I believe an account can have all sorts of personal information and financials linked to it, which would be very valuable to hackers. I doubt Apple is telling you to switch the account of your family members to 2FA, they would be suggesting that to them. From what little I read, "Help a Friend" isn't about lost phones but for people who inadvertently lock their own account by entering the wrong password too many times. Also to clarify, this will be about switching your Apple Account to 2FA (regardless of which device you're using it on) rather than the physical phone. 2FA can be a hassle to get used to and may not be suitable in some cases but it is possible to get used to a different procedure fairly quickly so in general it is generally recommended.
Actually you have to be very careful to avoid being switched. And if you lose your phone and "two-factor" requires you to enter a code in order to "find your phone," good luck.
I gather there are work arounds for that situation (it's one of the reasons for the "Help a Friend" function after all). Anyway, if loosing your phone is such a common issue for you, that'd be all the more reason to use 2FA. Or, you know, be more careful with your phone in the first place. The fact remains that, in general, 2FA is a positive thing and not a solution in search of a problem. It does has it's own issues so isn't a perfect answer, but then nothing is. If we're going to continue down the path of managing more and more of our lives on these devices, we need to accept some of these things.
