The password manager already on your phone, and how to use it

If we sent you this link, it’s because the passwords are on sticky notes, in a notebook, or the same one is used everywhere. You don’t need to buy anything to fix that. There is a password manager already on your phone, and this page shows you how to use it, one step at a time. If you’d rather do it with someone beside you, we offer help moving your passwords into your phone’s own password manager.

What is a password manager, and do I already have one?

A password manager is a safe place on your phone or computer that remembers your passwords for you, and you almost certainly have one already. The Australian Government’s cyber security advice at cyber.gov.au describes it as an application that stores the passwords for all of your accounts, so you only need to remember one.

On Apple devices it’s the Passwords app. On Android phones and in the Chrome web browser it’s Google Password Manager, which keeps your passwords in your Google account.

Pick where the passwords are

Sticky notes Saved in the Passwords app Saved in Google Password Manager A new phone

Passwords app Google Password Manager

Sticky notes

Passwords on sticky notes are easy to lose and easy for anyone nearby to read, and remembering them all is why the same one ends up on every website. If one website leaks it, every account with that password is open.

Saved in the Passwords app

On an iPhone, iPad or Mac, the passwords live in the Passwords app. Unlock it with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode, and each website has its own strong password, filled in for you when you sign in.

Saved in Google Password Manager

On an Android phone or in Chrome, the passwords live in Google Password Manager, in your Google account. Open the Settings app and search for Password Manager to see each one.

A new phone

Sign in to a new phone with the same Apple Account or Google account and the passwords come across: Apple's through iCloud Keychain, Google's because they are saved to your account.

Which password manager is already on your device

Your device	Its password manager	Where to find it
iPhone or iPad on iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 or later	The Passwords app	Its own app, called Passwords
iPhone or iPad on iOS 17 or earlier	Passwords in Settings	Settings, then Passwords
Mac on macOS Sequoia or later	The Passwords app	Its own app, called Passwords
Android phone or tablet	Google Password Manager	The Settings app, then search for Password Manager
Any computer with Chrome	Google Password Manager	Chrome's menu, then Passwords and autofill

Why does every website need its own password?

Because if one website leaks your password, every other account with the same password is open too. The cyber.gov.au advice is plain: “Make sure to generate a different password for every account.” A password manager is what makes that possible, because it remembers them all and you don’t have to.

For the passwords you do have to remember, cyber.gov.au suggests a passphrase: four or more random words, such as “red house sky train”. It says a strong one is long, unpredictable and unique. Its guide to creating secure passphrases (opens in a new tab) puts multi-factor authentication first, the extra code sent to your phone when you sign in, and a strong passphrase where that isn’t available.

How do I use the Passwords app on an iPhone or iPad?

Open the Passwords app, unlock it with your face, your fingerprint or your passcode, and tap the website you want. Apple says it holds your website and app passwords, passkeys, WiFi passwords and verification codes in one place. These are Apple’s iPhone steps; the Passwords app is on an iPad too, from iPadOS 18.

Seeing a saved password

1. 1

   Open the Passwords app

   It is an app of its own, called Passwords. On iOS 17 or earlier, open Settings and tap Passwords instead.

2. 2

   Unlock it

   Use Face ID or Touch ID, or type your passcode.

3. 3

   Find the website or app

   Choose All to see everything, or a category, then tap the website or app to see its password.

To change a saved password, Apple says to tap Edit, then Change Password. To remove one you no longer use, tap Edit, then Delete. If you can’t find a password you know you saved, choose All, look in Deleted, and check iCloud Keychain is turned on, which is the next step.

Turning on iCloud Keychain, so every Apple device has them

iCloud Keychain keeps the same passwords on your iPhone, iPad and Mac. Apple says iCloud protects them with end-to-end encryption. To check it’s on, using Apple’s steps:

1. 1

   Open the Settings app, tap your name, then tap iCloud.

2. 2

   Under Saved to iCloud, tap Passwords. In iOS 17 or earlier, tap Passwords and Keychain.

3. 3

   Turn on Sync this iPhone (or Sync this iPad).

On a Mac, it’s System Settings, your name, iCloud, Passwords, then Sync this Mac and Done. Then in the Mac’s Passwords app, click All, select the website, and hold the pointer over the dots next to Password to see it. With an iPhone and a Windows computer, Apple says iCloud for Windows can set up iCloud Passwords in Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. Apple’s article on using the Passwords app across your Apple devices (opens in a new tab) has the rest.

How do I use Google Password Manager on Android?

Open the Settings app, search for Password Manager, and tap it. Google keeps the passwords in your Google account, so the same list appears on every device signed in with that account. Google also offers a Google Password Manager app in the Play Store, which puts an icon on your home screen.

1. 1

   Open Password Manager

   Open the Settings app, search for Password Manager, and select Password Manager. In Chrome, it's under More, Settings, Autofill and passwords, then Google Password Manager.

2. 2

   Tap the website or app

   Tap the one you want in the list.

3. 3

   Show, edit or delete it

   Tap Show password to see it. Tap Edit to change it, then Save. Tap Delete to remove one you no longer use.

Under Settings at the bottom right of Password Manager, leave Offer to save passwords turned on, so the phone asks to save each password as you sign in.

On a computer, in Chrome

Open Chrome, select More (the three dots at the top right), then Passwords and autofill, then Google Password Manager. Select a password, then Show password to see it, or Edit to change it and Save. The same list is at passwords.google.com. Google’s page on managing passwords in Chrome on a computer (opens in a new tab) has every step.

Which of my passwords are weak, reused or leaked?

Both password managers check for you and tell you which ones to change. Apple says the Passwords app alerts you to a password that can easily be guessed, that you’ve used for several accounts, or that has appeared in known data leaks. Google’s Password Checkup looks for the same three: passwords exposed in a breach, weak ones, and ones used in more than one account.

• On an iPhone, iPad or Mac: open the Passwords app and choose Security. The accounts with weak or compromised passwords are listed. On a Mac, click the account, then Change Password, and change it on the website or in the app.
• On Android: in Chrome, tap More, Settings, Autofill and passwords, then Google Password Manager, then Checkup.
• On a computer: in Google Password Manager in Chrome, select Checkup on the left. Or go to passwords.google.com, select Go to Password Checkup, then Check passwords.

Start with any marked as leaked or compromised; Google says to change those as soon as possible. Let the phone suggest the new one: Apple says your device suggests a unique, complex password, and Google says Chrome can make a strong one and save it.

Can I share passwords with my family?

Yes, on both, with people you choose.

• Apple: the Passwords app can make a Shared Group with family members and other trusted contacts. On a Mac, Apple’s steps are File, New Shared Group, a name, Add People, Create, then choose the passwords and Move. Everyone needs iOS 17, iPadOS 17 or macOS 14 or later, and members can use and change the shared passwords.
• Google: you can share a password only with a member of your Google family group. In Password Manager, tap the password, tap Share, choose the family member, then Share and Done.

Share only what’s needed. Your email and banking passwords are yours alone.

Is Google Password Manager safe? And Apple’s?

Both makers say your passwords are encrypted. Google says saved passwords are encrypted while they’re sent over any network and when they’re saved to Google. It also offers on-device encryption (opens in a new tab), which you set up yourself: Google says only you can then see your data, but it can’t be removed, and if you lose the key you could lose your data too. Apple says iCloud protects your passwords with end-to-end encryption.

The weak point is the account the passwords live in. Google warns that with on-device encryption on, losing your Google password and every way back into the account can lose you your saved passwords, and recommends keeping the recovery phone number and email up to date. Apple’s iCloud Keychain steps start with two-factor authentication turned on. Give that account a strong passphrase. Locked out of your Apple Account already? Getting back into an Apple Account or a Microsoft account walks through the makers’ own steps.

Some websites now offer a passkey instead of a password, and the same apps save it. Apple says passkeys are always strong, unique to every account, and less vulnerable to tricks such as phishing. What a passkey is, and how signing in with one works explains it.

How do I move my passwords off the sticky notes?

One website at a time, by signing in normally and letting the phone save it. With Offer to save passwords on (Android), or AutoFill on (Apple: Settings, General, AutoFill & Passwords, then AutoFill Passwords and Passkeys), the phone asks to save the password the first time you sign in.

1. Start with the ones you use most: email, then the bank, then the rest.
2. Sign in on the website or app as usual and tap Save when the phone offers.
3. Check it worked: open the password manager and find the website in the list.
4. Change any old or shared password while you’re there, and let the phone suggest the new one.

Once a password is saved and you’ve signed in with it, the sticky note has done its job; our advice is to tear it up. Apple’s Passwords app keeps WiFi passwords too, and if you need yours, the modem’s sticker and settings page have it.

Sign in by opening the app, or by typing the website’s address yourself, never through a link in a text or email. How to check a message without clicking it shows the safe way, and if you think someone already has a password, what to do if you think you’ve been hacked goes through it.

A new phone: do the passwords come across?

Yes, when they were saved to your account. On Apple devices, sign in with the same Apple Account and turn on iCloud Keychain; Apple says you can approve the new device from another device or with your old phone’s passcode. On Android, sign in with the same Google account, and Google says your passwords work on every device signed in with it.

Before the old phone goes, open the password manager on the new one and find a few passwords you know.

When to call us, and when you don’t need to

You don’t need us for this. The steps above are yours to do, at your own pace, a few websites a day.

Call us when:

• The notebook has dozens of passwords and you’d like help checking and saving each one.
• The phone and the computer don’t agree, such as an iPhone and a Windows PC.
• You can’t get into the Apple Account or Google account the passwords are stored in.
• It’s a new TV and every streaming app wants its password: smart TV setup signs in the streaming apps you pay for.

A home tech support visit to sort out the passwords and accounts is made for this. We come to you and work on your own phone in front of you. You type your own passwords; we’d rather not know them. If one is lost, we go through the account’s own recovery steps together. Here is what a home tech visit covers on the day.

Not sure where to start? Send us a message saying what phone and computer you have, or ring 02 9188 1577.