Apple now has a Windows password manager, and this is how it works

Microsoft Windows 11 running on an Apple MacBook laptop.

(Image credit: rawf8/Shutterstock)

In a surprise move, Apple released a countersign manager for Windows , though it'southward really something that's best for people who take an iPhone and use Windows simply in one case in a while or at work.

The countersign manager is buried in the latest update of iCloud for Windows, version 12.five. Windows 10 users tin can download iCloud for Windows from the Microsoft Store.

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In one case you install or update iCloud for Windows, yous'll see an entry on the iCloud dashboard marked "Passwords." Click on that, and a bare-basic password manager will pop up. Information technology volition display all the passwords saved in your iCloud Keychain, and you can add together more passwords to the Keychain through this interface.

Ars Technica's Samuel Axon described the password manager every bit "bare-bones," and that'due south pretty accurate. As Axon put it, "it does the minimum and nada else." At that place's no password generator and no option to store anything merely usernames and passwords, such as credit-card numbers or personal information.

Double the browser extensions

Yous do, however, get the selection of installing an Apple Passwords extension for Microsoft Edge. This complements the extension for Google Chrome, which came with iCloud for Windows 12.0.

The extensions volition let you lot autofill password form fields in both browsers. If you're using Firefox, yous'll have to re-create-and-paste from the Passwords desktop interface.

"When y'all enable the iCloud Passwords browser extension, the browser'south born countersign-saving feature is turned off," Apple's release notes state. That'southward a good matter because browsers often don't practice a slap-up task of protecting your passwords.

There are more instructions for installing and using iCloud Passwords for PC scattered over the Apple back up site, such as hither, here and here.

Apple tree'south iCloud Password on a PC is best thought of equally a companion app for Apple-kickoff people who have to use a PC at work, or for anyone who has an iPhone just uses Windows as their main desktop Os.

iCloud Passwords setup: What you'll demand

To use Passwords as part of iCloud for Windows, you lot'll demand to take an active Apple ID that was fix on an Apple device and have ii-cistron authentication (2FA) set up on your Apple account. Y'all also have to have Windows Hello gear up on your PC, whether you sign in with your face, your fingerprint or just a locally stored device PIN.

You'll also need an iOS device or a Mac running Big Sur or later. (We had only a 10-yr-old Mac with Loftier Sierra, so we were out of luck). Equally part of the setup process, Apple tree's 2FA volition ship a i-time lawmaking to your iPhone or iPad, which is secure. But the backup option is to send an SMS text message to your phone, which is the worst kind of 2FA. If merely Apple would allow the apply of authenticator apps.

After that, y'all should exist all ready. Withal, Apple tree'due south countersign manager is pretty limited in what it offers. Many stand-alone password managers (some of them are free) will still give you many more than features, such as the ability to save other kinds of sensitive information and generate passwords.

Paul Wagenseil is a senior editor at Tom's Guide focused on security and privacy. He has besides been a dishwasher, fry cook, long-haul driver, lawmaking monkey and video editor. He'southward been rooting effectually in the data-security space for more than than 15 years at FoxNews.com, SecurityNewsDaily, TechNewsDaily and Tom's Guide, has presented talks at the ShmooCon, DerbyCon and BSides Las Vegas hacker conferences, shown up in random Idiot box news spots and even moderated a panel discussion at the CEDIA home-technology conference. You can follow his rants on Twitter at @snd_wagenseil.