Do you want to store all your online account information, logins, and passwords in one place? You might be interested in trying out iCloud Keychain, a handy password management tool that’s baked into iOS, iPadOS, and MacOS devices, and that automatically syncs that login keychain data between your other iPhone, iPad, and Mac hardware too.
There are plenty of password managers that you can download and install from the App Store today. However, iOS users don’t necessarily need to rely on such apps, as the built-in Keychain feature is fully capable of securely storing your log-in details and other information. It’s very convenient, as iCloud Keychain will store and then automatically fill out your usernames and passwords whenever required, once you visit a website or open an app that has been added to Keychain for quick and easy access.
Interested in learning how this works, so you can set it up on your iPhone or iPad? Here we’ll be discussing how you can enable and use iCloud Keychain on both the iPhone and iPad. And remember, the iCloud Keychain data will sync between your other Apple devices using the same Apple ID as well, including Macs!
How to Use iCloud Keychain on iPhone & iPad
First of all, you need to make sure iCloud Keychain is enabled. By default, when you set up your iPhone or iPad for the first time, you’ll be prompted to turn on Keychain. However, if you neglected that, you’ll still be able to enable it in Settings. Simply follow the steps below carefully, in order to turn on Keychain and start using it for managing your passwords.
- Open “Settings” app from the home screen of your iPhone or iPad.
- In the Settings menu, tap on your Apple ID name located right at the top, in order to head over to the account management section.
- In order to access iCloud settings for your device, tap on “iCloud” as shown in the screenshot below.
- Now, scroll a little bit down and make sure if iCloud Keychain is enabled. If not, tap on “Keychain” and press the toggle to turn it on.
- Now that iCloud Keychain is enabled, you can start to use it. Head over to any website or open an app that requires you to sign in with an online account. Since you don’t have any information stored on Keychain just yet, you’ll need to type in your username and password for manually logging in. As you log in, you’ll get an iCloud Keychain pop-up as shown below. Tap “Save Password” to store the log-in information on iCloud Keychain.
- Now, if you log out and try to log in again, you’ll have an option to use Keychain to automatically fill out your log-in details for you. Simply tap on the account name or e-mail address that’s displayed on the iOS keyboard. Before it fills your information, you’ll be asked to authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID to make sure your information remains secure.
That’s really all there is to setting up and using the built-in iCloud Keychain feature on both your iPhone and iPad.
It’s worth noting that this saved information gets synced across all your other Apple devices including Macs, as long as they’re logged into the same Apple account, with the help of iCloud. This makes sure you have quick and easy access to all your log-in details, regardless of what device you’re using.
iCloud Keychain allows you to store login details, passwords, and even credit cards for autofill to make online purchases easier and faster. You can even have iCloud Keychain generate random secure complex passwords and store those too (and yes the Mac has the same secure password generation feature with iCloud Keychain too, and these passwords will sync with all other iCloud Keychain devices).
Despite all the convenience that Keychain brings to the table, the feature does not have some of the other options available that third-party password managers do. For starters, it lacks some basic features that you might like from a password manager, like alerting you in case of a security breach, or being able to change passwords without even leaving the app. Thus iCloud Keychain may not be an ideal solution to everyone, and why third-party password managers like LastPass, 1Password, or DashLane could be options for some users. Despite a few shortcomings, iCloud Keychain is undeniably convenient and useful since it’s built right into iOS, ipadOS, and macOS, and that’s hard to beat.
Did you set up and learn how to use iCloud Keychain on your iPhone and iPad? What do you think of this built-in solution for managing passwords? Do you rely on iCloud Keychain or would you looking to switch to a third-party password management service? Let us know your thoughts, experiences, and opinions in the comments section down below.
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