Some products ask you for a security PIN: four digits, shorter than your password, that you type to confirm that it is really you before an important action. This guide explains when it is asked, how to create it, how to change it and what to do if you forget it. If your profile has no Security PIN card, the product you use does not ask for one and you can skip this guide.
When you are asked to create one
Until you have a PIN, a warning bar at the top of every page says Need to configure a PIN for your account. with a Configure PIN link. The link opens your profile, where you create it. Nothing is blocked in the meantime: you can keep using the product, and the bar disappears as soon as your PIN is saved.
You can also get there yourself: click your picture in the top bar, choose My Profile, and find the Security PIN card. It says Set up a 4-digit PIN to confirm your identity for important actions.
Create your PIN
- Under Create PIN, type four digits, one in each box. The cursor moves to the next box by itself, and deleting in an empty box goes back to the previous one. The digits are hidden as you type.
- Under Confirm PIN, type the same four digits again.
- Click Create PIN. You see PIN configured successfully.
From then on the card is for changing it. If a box is left empty or holds something other than a digit, the card says Complete the PIN or Complete the PIN confirmation under the row to fix. If the two rows differ, you see PINs do not match and nothing is saved: type them again.
When you are asked for it
Before an important action, the product may open a window titled Confirm Action with a PIN field. Type your four digits and click Confirm: the action goes ahead and the window closes. Cancel closes the window and the action does not happen.
If the PIN is wrong, the field says Invalid credentials. and the window stays open so you can try again. While you have not created a PIN yet, the same window asks for your Password instead.
Which actions ask for it depends on the product you use.
Change your PIN
Once you have a PIN, the Security PIN card shows three rows:
- Under Current PIN, type the PIN you have now.
- Under New PIN, type the new four digits.
- Under Confirm PIN, type them again.
- Click Update PIN. You see PIN updated successfully.
Next to the button the card reminds you that PIN must be 4 digits. If the current PIN is wrong you see Current PIN is incorrect, and if the two new rows differ, New PINs do not match; in both cases your PIN stays as it was. A row left incomplete says Complete current PIN, Complete the PIN or Complete the PIN confirmation.
If you forget your PIN
You cannot recover or reset your PIN by yourself, and changing it needs the current one. Ask the product's support team or administrators to reset it. Once they do, the warning bar comes back and you create a new PIN as the first time, without the old one.
Your PIN is stored so that nobody can read it back, not even the administrators.