How Do You Actually Find Saved Passwords on a Mac?
As someone who has helped many friends and family members with their Macs over the years, one of the most common questions I get is "How do I find my saved passwords?" It‘s an important thing to know, but Apple doesn‘t always make it obvious.
The good news is, if you know where to look, finding and managing your saved passwords on a Mac is actually quite simple. As a Mac user myself, I‘m passionate about helping others master their devices. So allow me to give you an expert walkthrough of everything you need to know about saved passwords on your Mac.
Understanding iCloud Keychain
First, it‘s important to understand the primary way Macs handle storing your login details – a built-in password manager called iCloud Keychain. Here‘s how it works:
Whenever you enter a password in Safari, or in apps on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad, you‘ll see a prompt asking if you want to save it to your iCloud Keychain. If you choose yes, that password gets securely stored and synced across all the Apple devices signed into your iCloud account.
iCloud Keychain uses end-to-end encryption to protect your data. Your passwords are encrypted on your device before being uploaded, and can only be decrypted using a unique key that Apple doesn‘t have access to. So you can trust that your passwords are safe.
The beauty of iCloud Keychain is that once a password is saved, you don‘t have to remember it or type it in again. When you return to that app or website, your username and password will autofill automatically after you authenticate with Touch ID, Face ID, or your Mac login password. It‘s incredibly convenient.
However, there are times you may need to manually retrieve a password to enter on another device, share with someone else, or just to reference. Fortunately, finding your list of saved passwords is easy once you know where to look. Here‘s how:
Finding Passwords with Keychain Access
Every Mac includes an app called Keychain Access, which is where you can view and manage all the various things stored in your iCloud Keychain – including passwords. Here‘s how to access it:
- Open the Finder
- Go to the Applications folder
- Open the Utilities folder
- Launch the Keychain Access app
Once Keychain Access opens, you‘ll see different categories in the left sidebar, like login, iCloud, System, etc. Click on "login" which is where most website and app passwords are stored.
To find a specific password:
- Click inside the search field in the upper-right corner
- Type the name of the website or app you need the password for
- Double-click the search result
- Check the "Show password" checkbox
- Enter your Mac login password when prompted
- The password will now be visible next to "Show password"
You can copy and paste the password as needed. Just be sure not to leave your passwords visible if you step away from your Mac.
Finding Passwords in Safari
You can also access your list of saved passwords directly in Safari. This method provides a nicer interface than Keychain Access in my opinion:
- With Safari open, click Safari in the top menu bar
- Click Preferences in the dropdown menu
- Click the Passwords tab
- Enter your Mac login password when prompted
- Browse or search for the password you need
- To view a password, double click it, then click the "Show Password" checkbox and enter your Mac password again
I find myself using this Safari method most often since I‘m usually already in my browser when I need to retrieve a password.
Enabling iCloud Keychain
If you‘re not seeing any saved passwords, you likely don‘t have iCloud Keychain enabled. To turn it on:
- Click the Apple icon in the top-left corner of your screen
- Click System Preferences in the dropdown
- Click Apple ID at the top
- Select iCloud in the sidebar
- Scroll down and check the box next to Keychain
- You may need to enter your Apple ID password
Once enabled, iCloud Keychain will begin auto-saving passwords you enter, and syncing them across your Apple devices. You can follow the same steps to enable it on your iPhone and iPad too.
On subsequent devices, you‘ll be prompted to approve using iCloud Keychain when you first enable it, to verify you trust the device. This is a security measure to prevent someone from accessing your passwords by signing into your iCloud account on their own device.
Using Siri to Find Passwords
Here‘s a convenient trick – you can ask Siri to look up passwords for you on your Mac. This is handy if you already know the name of the account you need the password for. Simply say:
"Hey Siri, what‘s my Netflix password?"
Siri will prompt you to authenticate with Touch ID, Face ID or your password. Once you do, your password will be displayed right on screen. Give it a try next time you need to quickly retrieve a password.
Third-Party Password Managers
While iCloud Keychain is great, some users prefer to use dedicated third-party password managers like 1Password, LastPass, or Dashlane. These apps can offer additional features like the ability to securely share passwords, auto-fill passwords in your browser, provide easy access across non-Apple platforms, and more.
If you decide to go this route, you‘ll manage all your passwords through that application instead of iCloud Keychain. Each app has a different interface for retrieving, viewing and managing your passwords, so I‘d recommend reading through the support documentation for whichever you choose.
The good news is, most password managers have browser extensions that allow them to function just like iCloud Keychain – automatically saving and filling passwords as you browse the web. And apps like 1Password have a Mac app that can auto-fill passwords across your other installed applications too.
Manually Adding Passwords
In most cases, iCloud Keychain or your password manager will automatically prompt you to save usernames and passwords as you log into apps and websites. But if you ever need to manually add login details, you can do so easily.
In Safari, while viewing your list of saved passwords (Safari > Preferences > Passwords), you‘ll see an "Add" button in the bottom-left corner. Click that, and you can manually enter the website URL, username, and password you want to save.
Password managers like 1Password and Dashlane have similar manual entry options if you use one of those instead. Adding passwords manually can be useful if you need to save a password for an account you haven‘t logged into yet on your Mac.
Troubleshooting Password Issues
If you‘re having trouble accessing a saved password, here are a few troubleshooting tips:
First, make sure iCloud Keychain is actually enabled on your Mac. You can check in System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud as mentioned earlier.
If a password isn‘t auto-filling for a specific site, try manually accessing it using the Keychain Access or Safari methods explained above. Then visit the site and manually enter the password to ensure it‘s correct. If prompted to update the saved password, do so.
Sometimes websites change their domain or page URLs in ways that confuse the auto-fill feature. If you wind up with multiple saved entries for the same account, delete the ones that no longer work, forcing your Mac to re-prompt you to save the password the next time you log in.
If you‘re having trouble getting iCloud Keychain to sync passwords across your devices, try logging out of iCloud completely on your Mac (System Preferences > Apple ID > Overview > Sign Out) and then logging back in. On your iPhone or iPad, you can do the same from Settings > Apple ID > Sign Out.
As always, make sure your Apple devices are running the latest version of macOS or iOS. Bugs that affect iCloud Keychain may be fixed in newer software updates.
Importance of Password Managers
I want to close by stressing how crucial it is to use a password manager like iCloud Keychain in today‘s digital world. With data breaches constantly making headlines, reusing the same password across multiple accounts is incredibly risky. If one account is compromised, hackers will try that same password on your other accounts.
Password managers make it easy to use a unique, strong password for every account, without having to remember them yourself. Your passwords are encrypted and secured behind a single, strong master password.
Even if you don‘t use iCloud Keychain, I urge you to use another password manager. Yes, there is a slight learning curve to accessing and managing your passwords. But the security benefits are more than worth it. Think of password managers as the "seatbelt" for your digital life.
Conclusion
I hope this guide has helped demystify the process of finding and managing saved passwords on your Mac. Apple provides solid built-in options with iCloud Keychain and the Safari password preferences.
But as you can see, there are many ways to approach password management on macOS and iOS. The best solution is whichever fits into your workflow and encourages you to use strong, unique passwords.
If you found this article helpful, consider sharing it with other Mac users in your life. Spreading awareness of password security best practices benefits us all. Stay safe out there!
