Apple’s new password manager app will sync across devices and platforms

Building on iCloud Keychain, Apple announced a new dedicated password management app that can manage account authentication across a wide range of platforms and devices.

Apple, which made the announcement during its annual WWDC keynote on Monday, said the app will be available on iPhones, iPads, Vision Pro, Macs and even Windows PCs.

All your passwords, verification codes and security alerts will be synced across your devices. And if you use autofill, your passwords will automatically appear in the app, the company says.

The average person has countless online accounts, and setting good passwords for each of them can take a lot of effort.

Password managers are designed to make this a bit easier by providing a safe place to organize and store these credentials, making you more likely to use the long, unique and random passwords that security experts say are crucial to protecting your information online.

At the same time, the industry is trying to move away from traditional passwords in favor of access keys.

The keys, which replace passwords with cryptographic keys, are built on protocols and standards created by the FIDO Alliance. Apple rolled out them as part of iOS 16 in 2022, and Google rolled out support for them on all major platforms last year. Proponents say keys provide a better user experience than passwords while eliminating the risk of weak, reused and compromised passwords, not to mention phishing attacks.