Password managers like 1Password and LastPass are great. We maintain a list of recommended password managers for a reason: a good one makes it easy to use strong, unique passwords everywhere on the web, no matter what platform or browser you’re using.
But to get the most out of it, you have to pay a subscription. That makes perfect sense: Running these cloud services comes at a cost. But now that Apple is introducing a standalone password app in iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia, I wondered if I could ditch my 1Password subscription and save a few bucks a month. I also use Authy for two-factor authentication keys, and I love it, but since Apple’s Passwords app also supports standard 2FA keys, I could effectively eliminate two apps on my iPhone.
About a week ago I took the plunge and learned that most Users can replace their paid password manager with Apple’s free solution. There are a few issues and annoyances, but it’s definitely “good enough” for most everyday users. Apple could use some polishing in a few places, and it won’t do the job for power users, but the biggest annoyance I encountered was making the switch, not being able to use the Passwords app after transferring everything.
Making the change is the hardest part
The worst part about switching from 1Password and Authy to Apple’s Passwords app was literally making the switch.
Extracting passwords from 1Password was pretty straightforward. 1Password can quickly and easily export passwords as CSV (comma-separated values), and the Passwords app imports them quickly. It handled duplicates fairly well, and only a handful of passwords failed to import.
Managing the latter was more annoying: either you had to fix the problem in 1Password and export it again, or add them manually. It’s not difficult, but it’s a tedious process.
The worst part was moving the 2FA codes from Authy. I love Authy’s cloud sync and backup, but there is no official account export function. Without resorting to third-party tools that I may not trust (and don’t want to set up), this means logging into every account I have a 2FA code for and adding a new one. In many cases, the service only allows one 2FA code, and I had to disable 2FA and set it up again from the Passwords app.
It’s pretty straightforward: it supports the standard methods of manually entering the code or “scanning a QR code with your phone’s camera.” Again, it’s not a difficult task, but it’s an hour of hard work that I wish I didn’t have to do.
Then there are other apps. I use Chrome a lot, so I had to grab the iCloud Passwords extension to get autofill working there. I also had to install the iCloud app on my Windows computer to sync my passwords (Apple doesn’t provide password management on Windows, but passwords sync to browser extensions via the Windows iCloud app). The whole process took most of an afternoon, and I spent the next few days cleaning up the occasional bad URL or duplicate password.
Of course, those who don’t already have a password manager won’t have to go through all these steps. If you’re considering switching password managers to save money, expect it to take a while.
Good enough for most
Apple’s Passwords app works well enough for the basic functions that most of us rely on. It stores and fills in login passwords, Wi-Fi passwords, 2FA codes, and access keys. It alerts you to easy-to-guess passwords, reused passwords, and passwords that have surfaced in major data breaches. It’s also relatively easy to share passwords securely with others. Apple also provides its own suggested passwords for new sign-ups.
It doesn’t give you much in the way of other features: saved credit card and ID information to autofill forms, secure storage of documents or notes, etc. Apple has other apps that do these things in an encrypted manner, but if you’re using other platforms and browsers, they’re not readily available.
I also prefer the interface of some other apps to Apple’s rather pedestrian effort.
After setting up the browser extension in Chrome, you’ll need to enter a six-digit passcode (generated by the Windows iCloud app) to sync the browser extension with your saved passwords. It won’t capture 2FA codes, so you’ll have to check your iPhone for that. If you’re using Firefox or a browser that doesn’t support Chrome extensions, you’re out of luck: Apple doesn’t offer an add-on.
Good news though: with macOS Sonoma and the new Passwords app, Chrome and Edge extensions now work on Mac too.
Suffice it to say that for most For users, Apple’s Passwords app gets the job done. It’s not a luxury experience, but most people don’t use a password manager at all… attracting them that way is a good thing. If you love your current password manager and use it to log in to multiple platforms and browsers, it may be worth continuing to pay its subscription fee.
If you primarily use Apple products and Safari, your experience will be smoother, and it’s hard to recommend a paid password manager for anything but the most demanding users.
Areas where Apple can improve
Apple could make the Passwords app a really great solution for most users with a few improvements. Increasing the font size of 2FA codes by a few points would help. There’s text at the top of the Codes screen that tells you how long it will take to reset codes, but it scrolls down the screen as you scroll through your list. It should stay anchored to the top of the screen.
There should be at least one Firefox extension, and both it and the Chrome extensions should use the same base as Passkeys to let you unlock them with Face ID on your iPhone if you don’t want to enter a six-digit passcode on Windows (on a Mac, you use Touch ID to unlock the Mac Passwords app).
You can easily export all your passwords on a Mac, but doing it on an iPhone or iPad doesn’t seem possible at all. Something as critical as our passwords shouldn’t be thrown into a one-way bit bucket like this.
Even without these changes, the new Passwords app is… very good. For the majority of Apple users who don’t regularly use other platforms or browsers, it’s very easy to use, and even for those who use Chrome or Edge and even Windows, it does the job well enough. It’s a big step up from the status quo of iOS 17 and macOS 14, where all your passwords are stuck three menus deep in Settings, and it’s a great first step for the majority of users who don’t use a dedicated password manager.
I just hope Apple doesn’t wait until iOS 19 to make some improvements, because that could be great.
