Guide

If your phone got stolen, would your accounts be safe? 10 checks

Tick each one. Sources at the bottom: NIST, CISA and Google.

1A different password for every accountOne breach stays one breach; let a password manager do the remembering.[CISA]SyncPass: Security score shows reused passwords
2At least 15 charactersLength beats complicated rules; a few words in a row works.[NIST]SyncPass: Password generator
3Two-step verification on email and bankingA stolen password alone won't get in.[CISA]SyncPass: 2FA codes (Premium)
4An app or a passkey instead of SMS, where you canNIST lists SMS as a “restricted” method.[NIST]SyncPass: Passkeys; 2FA codes (Premium)
5Keep recovery codes somewhere safeThey're your way back in if you lose the phone. Print them and keep them safe.[Google]SyncPass: Secure note
6Recovery email and phone up to datePick an address you use often, other than your sign-in email; a new recovery number can take up to 7 days to take effect, so do it now.[Google]
7Screen lock and remote find/lock/erase turned onTurn it on before the phone goes missing.[Google]SyncPass: Vault locks when you leave the app
8Automatic updatesSecurity fixes ship in updates.[CISA]
9Is your password in a breach?Change leaked ones right away; NIST asks for new passwords to be checked against breach lists.[NIST]SyncPass: Breach check (Premium); only the first 5 characters of a hash leave the phone
10Never type a password into a page you reached from a linkType the address yourself or open the app; report suspicious messages.[CISA]SyncPass: Autofill only suggests on the matching site

free for up to 15 items

Sources (accessed 19 Oct 2026)

This checklist is general information. OstlerTech · ostlertech.com