More Support for Breaking Out Apple Passwords Into a Standalone App

Dan Moren at Six Colors:

Unlike Cabel, however, I would like Apple to implement some sort of family sharing feature for Passwords. I share a bunch of logins with my wife, and while I can share them with 1Password, there’s an additional hurdle to getting someone on a third-party app that requires their own account, etc. Especially as we shift more and more to passkeys, where traditional methods of sharing will be impractical, it’s more important that Apple make it easier to share credentials.

When I linked to Cabel Sasser’s entreaty for breaking Apple Passwords out of a Settings panel and into a proper standalone app, I didn’t mention sharing, but I agree with Moren: sooner rather than later, Apple ought to support family sharing for passwords and other security credentials. Sasser’s line about sharing:

The idea is not to replace third-party password apps, as I do not wish a Sherlocking on anyone. Those apps should, and currently do, offer more features than Apple ever will, like cross-platform support, team/family password sharing, etc.

But sharing is too important to ignore, especially at the small scale of family sharing. Let’s face it, when we talk about Apple sherlocking* apps in this space, we’re really just talking about 1Password. There are other credible password managers but 1Password is the one that Mac and iOS users care about. But I think it’s clear that 1Password themselves have moved in an enterprise direction. Apple Notes added robust small-scale sharing years ago and hasn’t sherlocked the market for third-party notes apps. I think the same would be true for passwords.

* The DF Style Guide Desk is making a call: it’s time to lowercase the verb sherlock.

★ Friday, 31 March 2023