It is easy to click yes when asked if you want to save a password, but do you know how to access saved passwords on your iPhone?
Saving passwords to a manager is very helpful especially when using multiple devices. In this post we will learn what a password manager is, how to save passwords, and how to access and use what has already been saved on your iPhone.
In this blog post we will focus on Apple’s built in password manager. To learn more about the Google Chrome browser password manager read our blog post How to Access Saved Passwords in Google Chrome.
What is a Password Manager?
A password manager is an application that saves and stores online account information.
Typically each account is tied to a URL, and each has the Username and Password. This information is used to sign in when on that website.
When using a web browser, like Apple’s native application Safari, whenever you sign into a website it will likely ask if you want to save the information you have typed in.
If using Safari, when choosing this option it will save to the Apple password manager on the iPhone.
You can also hit the “never” option to never ask you to save your information again on that specific website.
Be sure to only save passwords on your own devices, and on your own Apple account.
How to access and save your passwords
On iOS, whether an iPhone or an iPad. You will first need to open the Settings app.
In the app, scroll down until you see the tab labeled “Passwords.”
Click on Passwords and use Face ID, Touch ID, or your phone’s passcode to open the information. If Face ID, or Touch ID fails to authenticate, it will ask for the passcode instead.
Once that is complete you will see a list of all the different websites that have saved passwords. Users can use iCloud to sync these saved passwords between their devices.
To view the actual passwords, scroll through and tap the website you want to know the information for.
This will then show the URL, the username and the password with be displayed at dots. To see the password, click the dots. Authenticate one more time with Face ID or other metrics. This will then display the password for that specific site.
If you notice you do not have login information saved for a website and want to do it manually you have a few options.
You can go to the website, sign in, and hit the save option when it asks if you want to save your password.
In the Passwords list in Settings, you could tap the + sign on the top right when in the main list of passwords within the settings. This will allow you to type in the information manually.
If you choose to save passwords in Chrome, Firefox, or any other non Safari browser, these passwords will not appear in Apple’s Password section. They may instead be saved in the browser’s password manager.
What does Autofill mean?
Autofill is the name of the function in your browser, or device that pulls data from your saved password manager, and inputs it for you.
You may have seen the word autofill here and there when using internet browsers, but you might not be sure what it actually means.
Autofill can happen automatically when going to a website on a browser or an app that you have saved your information for. If the information doesn’t fill in automatically as shown in the example photos, you may need to press the white key button above the keyboard.
How to Access Password Managers on the iPhone
Autofill can also be set to pull data from not just the iPhone’s saved password list, but also any other password manager. This includes most browsers as well as commercial password managers such as LastPass.
Users can also select to choose which password managers to use. Turning on or off the available managers can be very useful.
To do this, navigate again to the Passwords tab in your Settings.
Once there, tap the Password Options button, and then slide the desired manager slider into the green on position.
When signing into an account on either an internet browser or an app, look for already filled in information, the black key with the word Passwords, or a prompt asking if you want to save that information.
Often forms will already show you have saved information, but sometimes you need to click the black key.
If you are in the browser, then it should pop up for you as displayed in the nearby images.
For more information about how to access saved passwords on iPhone check out Apples Support Page.
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