What is an Apple keychain and how to use it

Apple Keychain, also known as iCloud Keychain, is a password management service for Apple devices provided by Apple itself. You can use it to store and retrieve website usernames and passwords, app logins, and even credit card details across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices.

By using iCloud Keychain, you don’t need to remember any of your logins as Keychain will automatically fill in your credentials for you. Plus, it syncs your saved information across all your devices using iCloud. This way, the password saved on the iPhone can be used on the Mac and vice versa.

What data does iCloud Keychain store?

iCloud Keychain securely stores the following private and confidential information:

  • Username and password of your website and application.
  • Your credit card details but no security code.
  • Passwords of all WiFi networks you have ever connected to.
  • Electronic Signature.

iCloud Keychain requires your consent while storing certain types of passwords in its database.

How to Use Apple’s iCloud Keychain on iPhone/iPad

To use iCloud Keychain on iOS devices, you need to enable the feature first, then you can save and access its content.

Enable iCloud Keychain on iPhone/iPad

You must be signed in to the same Apple account on your iPhone that you use on your other devices to sync your Keychain content.

  1. Launch Setting app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap your name banner at the top.
Apple ID in Settings
  1. Choose icloud option to manage your iCloud account settings.
iCloud Options
  1. Scroll down and tap Keychains right to buy.
Keychain option in iCloud
  1. Turn on iCloud Keychain right to buy.
iCloud Keychain is enabled

View passwords stored in your keychain on iPhone/iPad

If you’ve saved your login details in your iCloud Keychain, you can start accessing them right from your iOS device like your iPhone or iPad.

  1. Open Setting app on your iPhone.
  2. Scroll down and tap the option that says Passwords & Accounts.
Passwords & Accounts in Settings
  1. Touch Website & App Passwords at the top of your screen.
Website & App Passwords
  1. Authenticate yourself with Touch ID or Face ID.
Touch ID pop-ups
  1. You’ll see all the logins you’ve ever saved in your Keychain. Tap a website in the list to see its login information.
  2. You’ll see both the username and password for that site on the following screen.

Add personal info & credit card details to keychain

iCloud Keychain allows you to manually add information to your Keychain. This way you can store both your personal information as well as your credit card details in this service. You can then access this data on any of your iCloud-enabled devices.

  1. Access Setting app on your iPhone.
  2. Scroll down and tap The hunt right to buy.
Safari preferences in Settings
  1. Clap Autofill Under Shared section.
AutoFill Option
  1. Touch My information option to add your personal information.
My Info Options
  1. Select your contact card to add your personal information to Keychain.
  2. Clap Saved credit cards.
Credit Cards Saved in AutoFill
  1. Confirm your identity with Touch ID or Face ID.
Touch ID pop-ups
  1. Clap Add credit card.
Add credit card button
  1. Enter your credit card details and your card will be added to the Keychain.
Card details form in Add Credit Card

How to use iCloud keychain on Mac

On your Mac, you can use iCloud Keychain to store, retrieve, and even create passwords for your online accounts. There is an option to manually add data to your Keychain.

Turn on iCloud Keychain on Mac

You don’t need an app or anything like that to activate iCloud Keychain on your Mac.

  1. Click the Apple logo in the top left corner of the screen and select System Preferences.
Apple > System Preferences ” class=”wp-image-9992″ /></figure> </div> <ol start=
  • Click icloud on the following screen.
    • iCloud in System Preferences
    1. In the right-hand pane, you’ll see the services used with your iCloud account. Tick ​​the box for Keychains and Keychain will be activated on your Mac.
    Keychain checkbox in iCloud

    Access iCloud Keychain Passwords on Mac

    Your Mac lets you access your Keychain content in two ways. You can use a web browser or a built-in application to view your saved usernames and passwords.

    Use keychain access

    1. Click Launchers in the Dock, search Keychain Access and open it.
    Access KeyChain in the Search Bar
    1. You’ll see all your saved content in your Keychain.

    Using Safari

    1. Launch The hunt on your Mac.
    Safari in the Search Bar
    1. Click The hunt menu at the top and select Interests.
    Preferences in Safari
    1. Click Password navigation.
    Password tab
    1. Enter your Mac password and press enter.
    Enter button password
    1. You will have access to your saved Keychain passwords.
    Autofill username and password

    Use iCloud keychain data in Safari on Mac

    Before Safari can automatically populate fields on different web pages from your Keychain data, you need to enable the Keychain option in this browser on your Mac.

    1. Open The hunt browser on your Mac.
    2. Click The hunt at the top and select Interests.
    Safari Preferences Window
    1. Choose Autofill on the following screen.
    2. You should see some checkboxes on your screen. Tick ​​the information that you want Safari to automatically fill in for you from your iCloud Keychain.
    Autofill window

    Automatically generate passwords with keychains in Safari

    A lesser-known feature of iCloud Keychain is that it allows you to automatically generate strong passwords for your online accounts. This way you don’t need to create a password manually.

    The passwords this feature generates are automatically saved in your iCloud Keychain.

    1. Access The hunt browser on your Mac.
    Safari in the app
    1. Open the website where you want to create a new account. This can be any website you choose.
    2. When you’re on a website, click the password field and Safari will automatically suggest the password. Click this password to add it to the password field.
    Safari password auto-suggest
    1. If Safari doesn’t offer a password, click the key icon in the password field and select Suggest a new password.
    Suggest new password in password window

    Manually add a credit card to the keychain

    Like your iPhone, you can manually add a credit card to iCloud Keychain from your Mac.

    1. Open The hunt on your Mac.
    2. Option The hunt Followed by Interests from the top of your screen.
    3. Choose Autofill on the following screen.
    4. Click Edit next to where it says Credit.
    Edit button in credit card
    1. Click add at the bottom to add a new credit card to your iCloud Keychain.
    Add button
    1. Enter your credit card details and click Accomplished at the bottom. Your card details will be saved in your Keychain.
    Credit card information and Done button
    1. To remove a tag, select it and click Eliminate.

    You can also use Apple’s iCloud Keychain to view your saved WiFi passwords.

    What is your favorite password manager for your Apple devices? Is it iCloud Keychain or a third party tool? Let us know in the comments below.

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