Prior to the Army, I did lube-n-tune for five years, and serviced thousands of vehicles. It never ceased to amaze me how many time I had to use the pliers, cups, and claws. I would say that the vast majority of the hundreds of different sizes and brands of filters had "Tighten to contact plus a half 1/2 turn" right on the side of the filter or the box it came in. I have not had to use a wrench on one of mine since I was a teenager. I have never had one loosen or leak either although failing to ensure the gasket came off with the old filter got me a couple of times back then. It'll hold for a few seconds...
I had one like that, in which the old gasket didn't come off with the old filter. Started her up and oil sprayed everywhere. It's become a habit now to check that as soon as I spin off the old filter.