Guide To The Passwords App In IOS 18, IPadOS 18, And MacOS Sequoia

We all have dozens of passwords we have to remember, from work-related passwords, to personal banking, streaming and other subscription services, social media, and more. It’s a lot to manage, especially if you stick with the tried-and-true rules of never using the same password twice and always creating unique and secure passwords that aren’t simple to crack. Instead of jotting these down in a notebook, you can use the new secure Passwords app in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. It works the same way across all three platforms.

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How does the Passwords app differ from the previous method?

Previously, you could rely on iCloud Keychain to store your passwords, and even have them automatically generated and saved in Settings. And you still can. But with the new Passwords app, they’re stored securely somewhere, so if the Keychain is accidentally wiped or need to log in from another device, you can access them more easily.

Keep in mind that this works like the Passwords features that have been available since previous generation OS versions, like iOS 17. But now, it’s much more neatly organized.

What’s in the Passwords app?

Open the Passwords app once you see it on your device and browse through all the various areas.

1. Open the Passwords app on your device. It will be locked and require FaceID to reveal its contents.
2. Everything is organized in neat icons. You’ll see All, Passkeys, Codes, Wi-Fi, Securityand Deleted. There’s also a section to Share Passwords and Passkeys in Shared Groups.
3. Tap Search to look for a password for a specific service, site, file, or folder.
4. Under Allyou’ll see all saved passwords in alphabetical order, so you can easily find and retrieve what you need.

5. Passkeys shows, well, Passkeys – if you have any saved.
6. Codes is where verification codes are saved for a short window of time. Whenever these expire, they will be removed and new ones will be generated.
7. Wi-Fi will show passwords for every network you have connected to and saved.

8. Security shows passwords that may have been compromised so you can follow up and change them. You may be surprised by how long this list is!
9. Click into any one of these and you’ll get more information. It might indicate that the password was part of a data breach and prompt you to change it.
10. Finally, there’s Deleted passwords, if you have any. Note that these automatically delete after 30 days.

In this section, you can share passwords and passkeys with trusted family members, friends, colleagues, or others. This might be for a photo sharing site that everyone contributes to, or a login to a company website. Note that the people you want to share passwords and passkeys with need to also have an iPhone running iOS 17, iPad running iPadOS 17 or higher, or Mac with macOS Sonoma or later. If you try to add them and the contact info is gray instead of blue, this is an indication that they’re not using an Apple device or their device does not support this feature.

Only the person who created a shared password and password group can add or remove people from the shared group, but those who are added can leave at any point. If the creator changes a shared password on their local device, the password will be updated for everyone else in the group as well.

1. Once in the Passwords appselect Get Started under Shared Passwords and Passkeys.
2. Select Continue.
3. Create a Group Name.
4. Tap + Add People.

5. Search for the person by name, e-mail, or phone number to add them to the group. (They must exist in your Contacts.)
6. Tap Create.
7. Now choose the passwords from your list of passwords that you want to share in this group.
8. Once selected, tap Move at the top, right.
9. Select Notify via Messages if you want to let the person know you have shared the password(s) or Not Now if you will tell them later.
10. The Shared Group has now been created.

A simple way to keep track

So many people tend to use the same password over and over again for different websites and services. We’re all guilty of doing it. No one wants to deal with getting locked out or having to go through the “forgot my password” rigamarole. But the alternative is not worth the convenience. All it takes is for a hacker to gain access to one seemingly harmless service, and they can gain access to even more.

It’s so crucial to create secure passwords that don’t include any discernible or easily guessed words, like the name of your pet or street you grew up on. They should also have a combination of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. How can someone possibly remember all of these if you follow the recommendations? You can’t.

So, having an app like this makes it easy to keep track while maintaining a high level of security. The Security section of the app also offers a great way to run an inventory on compromised passwords, change them, and save the new ones, so you can keep on top of your privacy and security. The Passwords app is one of the features I can’t wait for my iPhone to get with iOS 18, and one I’ll likely be relying on a lot.