Apple Passwords: A Secure and Convenient Password Management Tool

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What is Passwords?

Passwords is actually an important upgrade and innovation in Apple's password management. It is the successor to Apple's well known Keychain feature. Now, in the new system, Passwords is a separate, dedicated application. This shift is not a cut-and-dried innovation, but rather a continuation and elevation. Users don't need to worry about losing or losing the passwords stored in their keychain, Passwords takes over this valuable data and allows users to seamlessly transition to a convenient and secure password management service.

Simple and intuitive interface

Passwords has a simple and intuitive interface, similar to Apple's Reminders app. It displays all passwords in categories, including All Passwords, Passkeys, Codes, Wi-Fi Passwords, Security Settings and Deleted Items, so users can quickly find the password information they need.

Powerful Password Management Functions

Auto-generate strong passwords: When we sign up for a new account in Safari, the Passwords app prompts us to create a randomly generated strong password. This feature helps us to avoid using passwords that can be easily guessed and improves the security of our accounts.

Creating a password manually: If we need to create a password manually, we can open the Passwords app, enter the title, username and other information and select the secure password option suggested by the app. You can also add other relevant information in the Notes field to make it easier for us to find and manage it later.

Password Auto-Fill: The next time we return to a website where we have saved a password and need to log in, the Passwords app will automatically fill in the stored information. All we need to do is authenticate with Touch ID or Face ID, no need to manually enter a password, greatly improving the speed and convenience of login. (Chrome requires the iCloud Passwords extension to use autofill)

Secure Authentication Code Setup

Two-step verification (2FA)

Many websites now require two-step verification to improve account security, and the Passwords app supports a variety of verification methods, including text messaging to receive a one-time verification code and automatically generating a verification code that changes every 30 seconds. After setting up 2FA on a website and sending a cell phone number or email address to get the verification code as required, we can set up the verification code in the Passwords app, and the app will automatically populate the current verification code the next time we log in.

Convenient use of Passkeys

Passkeys is a way of using existing security hardware for authentication that is more secure and convenient than traditional passwords. On Passkeys-enabled services, we can log in to our account, go to Security Settings, and follow the prompts to store Passkeys using Touch ID or Face ID. The next time we log in to the site, we don't need to enter a password, we can simply use Passkeys to log in using Face ID or Touch ID authentication.

Flexible Password Sharing

Shared password group: We can create a new shared group, add members (select from contacts), then search for and check the passwords we want to share and move them into the shared group. In this way, we can share passwords with family members, friends or coworkers to make it easier for everyone to use some accounts together. If a password is changed, members of the shared group will also automatically receive the updated password.

Sharing a single password: The Passwords app also provides a convenient way to share a single password. We can show a QR code to let others get the Wi-Fi password, or we can use AirDrop to share a single password with people nearby. When sharing a password, we can authenticate it to make sure it's secure.

Importing passwords from other services

If you've used other password management apps before, such as 1Password or Bitwarden, you can export your passwords as a CSV file, and then in the Passwords app, select "File" > "Import Passwords " in Passwords app. However, it is important to note that the imported file is an unencrypted text file, so you should remember to delete it completely in "Finder" after importing to prevent password information from being leaked. In addition, some content (e.g. security notes, credit card information, etc. stored in 1Password) may not be imported into Passwords.

My experience

I was looking for a password management tool before using Passwords, but after a week of searching and experiencing it, even though I finally decided to choose RoboForm2Go, which seems to be quite good and doesn't have any history of leaking passwords, I still couldn't "let go" of it. The reason is that, from the bottom of my heart, I can't get rid of it. The reason is, from the deepest mistrust, I don't trust it at all, I don't believe that this kind of password management function can really protect the passwords well, and if there is really an accident, the consequence is something I can't bear, not even once.

And this time Apple launched Passwords, it is different, because bloggers have sufficient confidence in Apple's privacy protection, in the blogger's view, if Apple can't do it, then choose the other is even more impossible, and at the same time, choose Passwords also with the blogger can solve the problem with Apple's native apps, just use the native apps, do not add additional APP. This is the reason why I prefer Passwords.

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