Passwords Becomes a Real App in macOS 15 Sequoia, iOS 18, and iPadOS 18

Although I'm still a fan of 1Password for better cross-platform support, Apple has finally removed a huge hurdle to using its built-in password management capabilities.

Starting in macOS 15 Sequoia, iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and visionOS 2, Passwords is now a stand-alone app rather than being trapped inside of System Settings. If you have resisted using a password manager or don’t wish to continue subscribing to an alternative, give Apple’s Passwords a try. It makes creating, maintaining, and entering passwords faster, easier, and more secure than doing it by hand. Those already using a password manager can export their accounts and import into Passwords. If you are using Google Chrome on Mac, the first time you launch the Passwords app you are offered to automatically import your passwords from Google.

I'm now recommending that people who are fully in the Apple universe use the built-in password manager. I think it's the most user-friendly password manager out there.

How to open Apple Passwords

You'll find the Passwords app in your Applications folder in Finder or in Launchpad. For easier access, you can drag it to your Dock, or after opening it go to the Passwords menu > Settings > Show Passwords in Menu Bar. Beginning with macOS 15.4 it should suggest that to you in a banner in the app.

What You’ll Find in Passwords

I'll focus on the Mac version here, but the versions on iPhone and iPad are nearly identical apart from being rearranged to fit different screen sizes.

The left-hand sidebar, reminiscent of Reminders, provides categories of entries:

• All: Select All to see all your entries, regardless of what shared group they may be in.
• Passkeys: If you have any passkeys for websites like Apple, Google, and others, they’ll appear here. Passkeys are the new system set to replace passwords in the coming years. They are easier to use and more secure. I'll write an article about that someday.
• Codes: Passwords can create, store, and enter two-factor authentication codes for sites that support them (the same as Authy and Google Authenticator). If you need to look one up manually because Passwords couldn’t autofill it, you’ll find the associated account here. These are similar to the text message codes that some websites send you to log in, except they are more secure and work even if you don't have your phone available.
• Wi-Fi: This category contains stored passwords for all the known Wi-Fi networks.
• Security: If you have any accounts with weak passwords or accounts whose passwords were leaked in a security breach, they’ll appear here. Click the Change Password button on these entries to start the process; when the password changes, they’ll disappear from this category.
• Deleted: Any accounts you delete stay here for 30 days before being deleted for good. You can delete any of these accounts immediately or restore them.
• Shared Groups: If you use Family Sharing, you automatically get a Family Passwords group to simplify sharing important accounts with your family members. But you can also share accounts with other users of Apple Passwords. To move an account to a group, choose it from the Group pop-up menu.

The middle pane lists the entries in the selected category. You can sort the list using the menu with up and down arrows, search for a specific account, and manually add a new one with the + button. Or scroll through the list and click an account to view it in the right-hand pane.

At the top of the right-hand pane is an AirDrop button and an Edit button. Click AirDrop to share an account with someone nearby or Edit to make changes or set up a two-factor verification code. If you want to copy information, click the User Name, Password, Verification Code, or Website item to get a Copy menu. The password becomes visible when you mouse over it. Clicking Website also offers an Open Website option and lets you add more sites where the password should autofill. That can be useful where the same login works across several websites, such as disney.com, hulu.com, and espn.com.

Setup Requirements

Most people shouldn’t need to do anything to start using Passwords. However, if you have trouble, check the following items:

• Turn on Password AutoFill: If your device isn’t entering passwords for you, turn on AutoFill Passwords and Passkeys in Settings/System Settings > General > AutoFill & Passwords. Also, ensure that Passwords is enabled in the AutoFill From section if multiple password managers are installed. You probably also want to turn off any items that are not the "Passwords" app (such as Chrome or Firefox) so that their own password managers don't interfere.
• Turn on iCloud Keychain: If you want your passwords to sync securely among your Apple devices, which makes life a lot easier, go to Settings/System Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Passwords and turn on Sync This Device.
• Set up iCloud Passwords for other browsers: Apart from Safari, Chromium-based Web browsers (Arc, Brave, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, etc.) can access and autofill your saved passwords if you install Apple’s iCloud Passwords Chrome extension. Firefox users can install the iCloud Passwords add-on. The overall experience is not as seamless as in Safari, requiring a once-per-launch code, and you have to create new accounts in Safari or manually in Passwords, but it works. My general suggestion for most people is to use Safari. It's my favorite browser.

• Configure settings: Choose the Passwords menu > Settings (or look in Settings > Apps > Passwords for iOS 18 and iPadOS 18) to access options. Generally speaking, it’s fine to keep them all turned on.

If you have additional questions, check Apple’s documentation for detailed instructions for all the platforms on which Passwords runs. But realistically, Passwords is easy to use, and although the app itself is new, the underlying password management features and syncing have been in place for years, so they’re stable and reliable.

Password sharing

If you want to share your passwords and passkeys in your Passwords app with someone else who also uses the Passwords app, it's very easy. This way, others can have secure access to the most recent password. If you change the password, the other person will automatically get the updated password, along with any notes or authentication codes attached. To get started, hover over the "Shared Groups" heading on the left column and click the (+) button that appears. Once you create a group, a new dropdown menu will appear on each password entry that allows you to choose whether it is just for you or for a password group.

(Featured image by iStock.com/designer491)