An Apple Passwords app will be a small change with a big impact

One of the things we’re expecting to be announced next week is a ‘new’ Apple Passwords app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac – a move we’ve suggested on more than one occasion.

For 9to5Mac readers, this will bring one small but worthwhile benefit. The really big impact, though, will be with non-techies …

Apple devices have, of course, long had built-in password managers in the form of Keychain, and later iCloud Keychain.

Over time, the security feature has grown increasingly powerful, and is now on a par with standalone password managers like 1Password and LastPass. However, you wouldn’t know it, given that it’s been hidden away inside the Settings app like an afterthought.

That’s all set to change, says Bloomberg, when it is finally pulled out into a standalone app.

iOS 18, macOS 15, and iPadOS 18 will include a dedicated Passwords app for the first time, according to a new report from Bloomberg […] The new app will be powered by Apple’s existing iCloud Keychain service, which syncs passwords and usernames across devices.

Additionally, the new app is said to allow passwords to be imported from existing password managers.

One small benefit to techies

9to5Mac readers, of course, have been fully aware of the capabilities of the built-in password manager, and most of us probably use it these days, in place of the third-party apps we used when those offered better functionality.

It will still offer one benefit to us: Making Passwords a standalone app will enable it to be used when multitasking – something that can’t be done within Settings.

A huge impact for non-techies

Where this change will make a big difference is in making password management visible to non-techies.

It continues to scare me how often a non-techie friend will seek help with something like being locked out of a website or service they use, only to find that they use the same password for everything. Or, at least, a small set of passwords used across multiple sites and services.

This is, of course, a recipe for disaster. The first thing a hacker does when they obtain a database of usernames and passwords is to fire that database at all the big-name websites. For anyone re-using passwords, that means their personal data is only as secure as the least-secure website they use.

With this change, Apple is effectively waving at them and saying:

“Hello! There’s this thing called password managers. You really should be using one! And here you go – this one is completely free, and it’s included in all your Apple devices.”

But … passkeys!

I know. Passwords are horrible; I’ve been saying it for a great many years. Passkeys are the future, and we should be using them every chance we get.

But they are as yet very far from universal. So we’re stuck with at least some passwords for a while yet, and for however long that while lasts, the more people we can introduce to proper password hygiene, the better. This move will probably do more good in that respect than anything any company has ever done before.