eli5: why do people use PINs for smartphones but passwords for their computer?

Question

i don’t understand this, they are both equally important, so why use a less secure unlock on one?

In: 5

Answer 1

I would say it’s probably down to convenience.. how many people are in such a rush sometimes that it’s far easier to type a 4 number pin, trace a pattern, or simply look at your phone (all possible one handed), rather than trying to type in a password that possibly needs two hands to be as fast. People want their phones unlocked *now* not in 15 seconds time.

Also if you consider that prior to smart phones, mobiles only had number buttons.. yes you could type words but only if you pressed the number key 1 – 3 or 4 times per letter.. that could have led to a very lengthy password on a Nokia if lettered passwords were possible.