Password Management System

Setting Up Your Password Management System with iCloud Keychain

A new feature for iOS 7 is iCloud Keychain. It is a password management system that allows you to save and share your account login information, credit card numbers, and passwords behind a wall of protection on the iCloud server. This information could then be accessed across all of your Apple devices.

To turn this feature on (or off), you go to the Settings menu. There you will find iCloud settings and are able to select iKeychain. During setup, you will have to enter your apple ID and create a passcode. Next, go to Safari on the Settings menu and select Passwords & Autofill to turn on the passwords or credit card numbers that you want to save. When you enter your information on a website in your browser, you will be asked if you want to store the login information.

Another feature is that it will create passwords for you. Using your browser, go to the website you are signing up for. After you fill out the required information, you will see above the keyboard “suggested password.” Not all sites at this time, however, are compatible with iCloud Keychain. If a website has requested that passwords not be saved, there is a way around it. If you go to the Passwords & Autofill menu, you can select “Always allow” which will then enable it to save passwords even for websites that do not want their passwords saved.

If you want to delete a password that you have saved, you will need to go back into the Passwords & Autofill menu once again. This time, select Saved Passwords. Click the edit button, and then select the sites with passwords that you wish to delete. In order to complete the deletion, you will be asked to enter your passcode. The same principles apply for credit card information.

When you enter your credit card on a website, you have the option to save the information automatically or you can enter it manually by using the Saved Credit Cards section of the Passwords & Autofill menu. Click the Add Credit Card button and add in the information.

While Apple’s password management system is convenient, there are a few safety precautions to consider. If you unlock your device and someone uses it, they could potentially see this saved information. Also, if you choose to have iCloud Keychain generate your passwords, the password may not be especially strong. This feature is a first try for Apple, and there are still some kinks to work out. Some use it just for passwords and do not use it on their main financial sites. It’s designed to make your life easier but use with discretion.