XPost: misc.phone.mobile.iphone   
   From: mariasophia@comprehension.com   
      
   Tom Elam wrote:   
   >> The question is WHY does Apple require your account passwd even though   
   >> you're logged in and even though you never logged out (for years on end)?   
   >   
   > Never had iOS on several phones and iPads ask for my Apple password   
   > unless something unusual I did triggers it. Or maybe you don't have Face   
   > ID and fingerprint enabled?   
      
   Hi Tom Elam,   
      
   Happy New Year.   
      
   Thanks for helping us better understand Apple's iOS operating system.   
      
   I don't have FaceID or Fingerprint but I don't think that's related.   
   I also don't have a PIN, which I don't think is related.   
      
   I do have 2FV on my latest iOS device because I create a new bogus Apple ID   
   for every device, but Apple requires 2FV nowadays, like it or not.   
      
   Having answered your question, it turns out 2FV, FaceID, TouchID, PINs, &   
   the Apple ID do not control or influence the expiration of Apple service   
   tokens. Token expiration is determined by each individual Apple service.   
      
   Each Apple service controls its own token lifecycle, for example...   
    a. iCloud Drive has its own expiration rules   
    b. iMessage has its own expiration rules   
    c. App Store has its own expiration rules   
    d. Find My has its own expiration rules   
    e. Keychain escrow has its own expiration rules   
    etc.   
      
   With that answer behind us, I think you must have seen a password prompt at   
   some point because it is normal behavior on iOS to repeatedly ask for the   
   password since iOS does not rely on a single login.   
      
   Apparently iOS uses many separate authentication tokens, each tied to a   
   different Apple service such as this short list of some of them below:   
    1. Apple ID identity tokens   
    2. Apple iCloud tokens   
    3. Apple App Store tokens   
    4. Apple iMessage tokens   
    5. Apple FaceTime tokens   
    6. Apple Find My tokens   
    7. Apple Game Center tokens   
    8. Apple Activation tokens   
    9. Apple Keychain escrow tokens   
   10. Apple background sync tokens   
      
   These service tokens expire on different schedules but, luckily for us,   
   many of them are silently refreshed in the background without us knowing.   
      
   However, when a token that cannot be silently refreshed expires, iOS asks   
   for the Apple ID password. This happens even if the user never logged out.   
   --   
   The only way to understand any operating system, including iOS, is to test   
   it, since if we simply use the system only as designed, we learn nothing.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)