How to Make Mobile Safari Save Your Passwords on iOS

Security experts are always reminding us that our online accounts should have strong passwords. The only problem is that remembering strong passwords for various accounts can be a real drag. Luckily, you can make Safari save your passwords on iOS so that the next time you need to sign in to your accounts, you won’t have to enter them again. In this tutorial, we show you how to do so.

How to Allow Safari to Save Your Passwords

You might be wondering whether it is safe to save passwords on an iOS device. Yes, it is, as Apple uses its own utility known as Apple Keychain, which stores all your usernames and passwords and encrypts them so that only you can access them. In fact, even Apple can’t access your personal data. Here’s how to make Safari save your passwords on iPhone and iPad.

1. Go to the site whose credentials you want Safari to save.

2. Sign in as you usually would.

3. In the next window, you’ll be asked if you want to save the login information in iCloud Keychain for the next time. If you tap on “Save Password,” your credentials will be saved.

The next time you visit the site, Safari will automatically fill in the information for you to sign in.

If you have multiple logins for that same website, you will see multiple options listed. Tap the one you want to use. If there’s a third, fourth, etc., that isn’t shown, click the “Passwords” link (just above your virtual keyboard). You’ll be able to find the correct one in your list of saved logins.

Moreover, if you ever change your password on the site, you will be asked whether you want to update your password.

How to Add Your Credentials to Safari Manually

Here’s how to manually add usernames and passwords to Safari’s AutoFill.

1. Open the “Settings” app on your iOS device.
2. Scroll down a bit and pick “Passwords.”

3. Tap on the plus sign at the top.

4. Fill in the information of the site you want to save.

5. Double-check for any mistakes and tap “Done.”

The passwords are used and saved not only in Safari but in other browsers and other apps as well, meaning data is saved for both web apps and mobile apps, such as Dropbox.

As a result, if you sign in to the Dropbox web app and save your login information in Safari or another browser, then open the Dropbox app later, it will use the same login information that you previously stored.

How to Stop Safari From Filling in Your Passwords

Let’s say you want to keep your passwords, sign-in emails, and usernames on Safari – it saves all three – but don’t want the browser to fill them in automatically. Here’s how to stop Safari from filling in your passwords.

1. To disable the autofill feature, go to “Settings” and select “Passwords” there.

2. Look for the option to toggle off the autofill for passwords and tap on it. As long as it’s off, you can keep your passwords saved in this section, but Safari won’t autofill them.

How to Delete a Password From Safari’s AutoFill

Here’s how to delete a password from Safari’s AutoFill database:

1. Navigate to “Settings -> Passwords.”

2. Tap on “Edit” in the top-right corner.

3. Select each password you want to erase by tapping the circle to its left.

4. Tap on the “Delete” option at the top left.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are my passwords not saving on my iPhone?

If your passwords are not saving on your iPhone, you need to recheck your settings to see if you have disabled the Keychain feature in iOS Settings accidentally. In the event that it’s enabled and Safari is still not saving your passwords, try clearing the saved cache data and cookies and revisit the website.

How does Apple know if my password is compromised?

Apple detects a compromised password by matching it up with a list of passwords that have appeared in a data leak. According to Apple, this feature uses strong cryptographic techniques to regularly check derivations of your passwords against a list of breached passwords in a secure and private way that doesn’t reveal your accounts or passwords to Apple.

Can I export the passwords Safari has saved?

Yes, you can export all the passwords Safari stores in Keychain and also import them to Chrome’s password manager. However, you can only do this on a Mac and not from your iPhone. To export a CSV file of your Safari passwords:

1. Open Safari and navigate to “Preferences-> Passwords.”
2. Enter your password when prompted.
3. Click on the three dots on the left sidebar, then on “Export All Passwords,” and save the CSV file to your computer.