https://cabel.com/2023/03/27/apple-passwords-deserve-an-app/ cabel.com cabel.com A Blog by Cabel Sasser * Who? [adobestock_316077906] March 27, 2023 Apple Passwords Deserve An App First, let's consider three random tweets: [image-1] They already have. [image-2] They definitely should. [image-3] They seemingly won't... but why? We all know that Apple has nice built-in password management in macOS and iOS. But very, very few people know that Apple's passwords can also: * Autofill any 2FA verification codes, which you easily can add by scanning QR codes! * Keep a "Notes" field where you can add extra data, like 2FA backup codes, for each password! * Import passwords exported from another app, like 1Password! (And it all syncs across your devices, for free?!) Very few people know these things because Apple tucks all of their important password features away in weird little Settings panels, instead of in a Proper Real App. I think this is a mistake. Passwords are productivity, not preferences. (heck yeah now i'm really sounding like a tech blogger!! what I mean is, i deal with passwords more than i write docs in Pages, you get it right) The Position Every Apple user should know about these features. As much as I love 1Password (and I do! despite big fears about their venture funding! oh no here I go againnn!), there are people who can't afford to pay a subscription for a password manager, or people who don't even know they exist in the first place. They deserve easy-to-use security too. The Problem Here an example of what happens when you jam critical functionality into weird-ass places: [image-4] All that text is a big red flag reading "this thing should've been a proper UI". I can't blame the designer here. It's not their fault. Since someone decided passwords shouldn't be given a full, proper UI, 2FA code setup was relegated to contextual menus and control-clicks. The designer knows the user is unlikely to ever find that on their own, so they have to give them little hint somewhere. Why not when they click the "Enter Setup Key..." button to manually do this? The problem is: 99% of users will never find that button in the first place, let alone see this text. (Bonus Panic UI Tip: people can't/won't read more than three (3) lines of static descriptive text.) The Pitch Pretty simple. In my dumble opinion, Apple should: * Break Passwords out into a standalone app, with an actual fully resizable window (!!), and full, proper UI for most of its features * Make Passwords a toolbar item in Safari for easy access and to be top-of-mind for the user * Stick to a basic feature set, but do that well The idea is not to replace third-party password apps, as I do not wish a Sherlocking on anyone. Those apps should, and currently do, offer more features than Apple ever will, like cross-platform support, team/family password sharing, etc. The idea is that every Apple user deserves, as a baseline feature in 2023, obvious, clear, powerful, and easy-to-use password management. I yield my time PS: there is one place where Apple provides a nice standalone iCloud Passwords management app, with a fully resizable window. On Windows!?! [screenshot-2023-03-26-194704] PPS: I dream of a future where Passkeys could make the password manager extinct. But it'll take time... Like this: Like Loading... - Previous Post Reply (Or Don't) Cancel reply Enter your comment here... [ ] Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: * * * * Gravatar Email (required) (Address never made public) [ ] Name (required) [ ] Website [ ] WordPress.com Logo You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out / Change ) Facebook photo You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out / Change ) Cancel Connecting to %s [Post Comment] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] D[ ] 1. jlundell March 27, 2023 ...replacing the ancient, user-unfriendly Keychain Manager in the bargain. Reply 2. paws March 27, 2023 While we're at it, can we please get TOTP autofill on Chrome? It looks like the closest thing is this extension, but it's blocked on Macs Apple blocks iCloud Passwords Chrome extension for Mac users I'm likely ignorant of constraints here, but boy does it feel like this extension already does most of the heavy lifting -- why can't it autofill iCloud TOTPs into Chrome? Meanwhile the reason Chrome's password manager seems insufficient here, AFAIK, is because it doesn't support 2FA codes at all. (Presumably by design) Reply 3. Applenopasuwadohaapurinihusawashii - Shi Jie noHua Ti woRi Ben Yu dezatsu kuriSu Zao kuQue Ren ! March 27, 2023 [...] konoJi Shi haHackerNewsniJie Zai saretaXia Ji noJi Shi oyobisoreniDui suru HackerNewsShang nokomentowoYuan niZuo Cheng sareteimasu. Apple Passwords Deserve an App [...] Reply 4. Apple Passwords Deserve an App - CYBE March 27, 2023 [...] Read More [...] Reply 5. Wil (W) Moore III March 27, 2023 I am digging the irony of the existing of the standalone iCloud Passwords management app on Windows. Reply 6. Wil (W) Moore III March 27, 2023 I am loving the irony of the fact that there is a standalone iCloud Passwords management app for Windows. Reply 7. lollery March 27, 2023 That app already exists. It's called Keychain Access on macOS. Reply 8. Matt Lee March 27, 2023 Someone shared this shortcut with me... https://rmondello.com/ passwords-shortcut/ Reply 9. Apple Passwords Deserve an App by ttepasse - HackTech March 27, 2023 [...] Read More [...] Reply 10. Apple Passwords Deserve an App - TOP Show HN March 27, 2023 [...] Read More [...] Reply 11. casey March 27, 2023 Apple password manager is awful for one reason: my most valuable accounts are all unlockable with my phone passcode... which I type in public all the time. If someone has my phone and passcode - they have everything. Reply 12. Apple passwords deserve an app - Latest-News-Events March 27, 2023 [...] Apple passwords deserve an app 578 by ttepasse | 242 comments . [...] Reply 13. New best story on Hacker News: Apple passwords deserve an app - Cassinni March 27, 2023 [...] Apple passwords deserve an app 604 by ttepasse | 250 comments on Hacker News. [...] Reply 14. Derek March 27, 2023 The only reason I have a 3rd party (2Stable's Authenticator) 2FA app is because I tried using Apple's builtin 2FA in the preferences password manager and it just wasn't convenient to access, too many clicks. If apple was smart they'd create a seperate password/2fa app accessible from a Mac's menu bar with an app on iOS. Reply 15. Fofer March 27, 2023 One of my favorite menu Shortcuts in Ventura is this one I call "iCloud Passwords" - provides quick access, like an app! https://rmondello.com/passwords-shortcut/ Reply 16. Fofer March 27, 2023 This is one of my favorite menu Shortcuts, installed in Ventura. Quick access to passwords, like an app! Reply 17. Wgc March 27, 2023 It is arguably cross-platform. https://apps.microsoft.com/store/ detail/icloud/9PKTQ5699M62 Reply 18. fofer March 27, 2023 One of my favorite menu Shortcuts is this one: https://rmondello.com/passwords-shortcut/ It provides quick access to passwords in the iCloud keychain. Like an app would Reply 19. Start Up No.1971: the trouble with Windows Taskbar news, WolfraLLM is the accurate one, RIAA v Steve Jobs, and more | The Overspill: when there's more that I want to say March 27, 2023 [...] Apple Passwords deserve an app * cabel.com [...] Reply 20. doe March 28, 2023 What Apple ultimately wants is a FIDO-based, passwordless experience. Hence, it is highly unlikely that they will release a dedicated app to manage passwords. Reply 21. There's an App for That... Unless You're Apple's Passwords Feature - 512 Pixels March 28, 2023 [...] There's an App for That... Unless You're Apple's Passwords Feature - [...] Reply 22. iOS and macOS's Passwords feature needs an app - - news.iNthacity: More Top Breaking News and Popular Stories To Stay Informed March 28, 2023 [...] Panic co-founder Cabel Sasser writing at his blog: [...] Reply 23. iOS and macOS's Passwords feature needs an app - - Alaska Apple Users Group March 28, 2023 [...] Panic co-founder Cabel Sasser writing at his blog: [...] Reply 24. Mark Anderson March 28, 2023 I use the Apple passwords feature as well as 1Password, and you're spot on with why they should make this an app. The main reason I stick primarily with 1Password is performance. I have 1700+ passwords in my Apple keychain/iCloud password thing and it's quite laggy. Also, if you're attempting to manage passwords that it highlights with security issues, it's about 5 clicks each to resolve. Bad UI. Reply Cabel Updates Who knows how often I'll update this. But you can get emailed when I do!! Type your email... 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