How to use Contact Key Verification on iPad

Thursday October 15, 2026 11:24 pm EAT by Moses Johnson

You can use Contact Key Verification to receive automatic alerts that help verify you’re communicating only with the people you intend. You can also generate unique codes that you and your contacts can compare simultaneously in the Messages app to further verify each other’s identities.

You can even post your Public Verification Code to a social media account so other people can confirm that it’s you when they send you a message, and you can save other people’s codes in the Contacts app. Your devices need to be passcode or password protected, and the person you’re trying to verify must be in your contacts.

Note: Contact Key Verification is designed to prevent highly sophisticated cyberattacks; it isn’t designed to prevent fraud such as phishing or other text-based scams.

Before you begin

Before you use Contact Key Verification, check that the following are true:

Your devices are passcode or password protected.
You’re signed in to iCloud and iMessage with the same Apple Account and you have two-factor authentication turned on for your Apple Account.
The person you’re trying to verify is in your contacts.

Turn on Contact Key Verification

Open Settings, tap [your name], and then tap Contact Key Verification.
Turn on Verification in iMessage and tap Continue.

Note: When you turn on Contact Key Verification, you’re prompted to update all of your Apple devices to compatible software. If you have a device that can’t be updated, you need to sign out of iMessage on that device before you can turn on this feature.

Share a Public Verification Code

Other people can verify your identity with your Public Verification Code, which you can share in a message or post on a social media account.

Open Settings, tap [your name], and then tap Contact Key Verification.
Tap Show Public Verification Code.
To share your Public Verification Code, tap Copy Verification Code, tap OK, and then paste the code wherever you want to share it.

It works the other way, too. Someone else’s Public Verification Code lets you verify their identity. If the code someone shares with you doesn’t match the one displayed on their social media profile, for example, stop sending them messages until you can confirm their identity.

Generate verification codes in Messages

If you want a higher level of security, generate a verification code in Messages with your contacts and save each other’s Public Verification Codes in Contacts. That’s useful for verifying each other simultaneously, or when a Public Verification Code you received and the one your contact shares with you don’t match.

Start the Messages app on your iPad.
Tap the person’s name at the top of the conversation, scroll down, and tap Verify Contact.

When the other person taps Verify Contact on their device, a contact verification code appears.
Compare the verification codes on both devices. Do one of the following:
- If the codes match: Tap Mark as Verified, tap Update to add the verification code to the other person’s contact card, and tap Done.
- If the codes don’t match: You might not be communicating with the person that you intend. Tap No Match. Stop sending messages to the person until you can verify their identity.

Verified contacts get a checkmark next to their name in Messages. Their verification status also shows in the Conversation Details, and you’ll find their Public Verification Code in Contacts.