It is impossible to remember all your passwords, especially if they alternate uppercase and lowercase letters, symbols, numbers and punctuation marks. After all, each of us probably has at least 4-5, or even more than dozens of accounts that need protection. Therefore, to not burden your head with unnecessary information, in a civilized society, it is customary to use password managers, which not only store but also come up with safe combinations, forming them in random order and protecting them using biometrics. Despite the abundance of such applications, almost the only password manager for iOS has always been and remains the “Keychain”. But recently it has a competitor in the face of Microsoft’s Autofill.
Microsoft launched Autofill, a cross-platform password manager over the weekend. It was launched based on the Microsoft Authenticator authorization service and used its infrastructure. Essentially, Autofill is a dedicated section within Authenticator where passwords are stored and used to auto-complete them on websites, apps, and web services.
How to replace Keychain Access on iOS
By and large, Autofill is not much different from Keychain Access, which is available in iOS by default. The main thing is to configure everything correctly.
- Download Autofill from the App Store using this link ;
- Go through authorization and distribute privileges;
Make sure to disable Keychain Access so it doesn’t conflict with Autofill
- Open in “Settings” – “Passwords” – “Autofill passwords”;
Autofill authorization button is no different from Keychain
- In the window that opens, turn on Authenticator and turn off ” iCloud Keychain “;
- Synchronize existing passwords, if you have them.
It is important to understand that password synchronization does not happen with Keychain Access, but with Autofill for other platforms. That is, if you have previously used a manager from Microsoft and managed to accumulate a certain amount of credentials, synchronization will transfer them to a new device. Otherwise, all the credentials will have to be interrupted manually by copying them from the “Keychain”.
Since initially, you won’t have any passwords saved in Autofill, you will have to add them there yourself:
- Open the site for which you want to save the password;
- In the authorization window select “Passwords” on the keyboard;
To save your username and password, click on the “Passwords” button
- Log in to Autofill and click “Add Password”;
- Enter your username and password from this site and save them.
Universal password manager
Who might need it is easy to understand. Since Autofill is a universal thing, which is available in Google Chrome, and on iOS, and Android, for many, it may be a preferable option than Keychain Access. Although Apple recently released an extension for Chrome called iCloud Passwords, it is only available on Windows and ignores other platforms. Android users who are using Macs would find the autocomplete feature very useful.
Like Keychain Access, Autofill provides convenient access to all your accounts. That is, the Microsoft password manager allows you to enter the company’s sites and services without a password, using only a fingerprint or face scan, depending on your device. It may seem to some that this is an optional thing, but practice shows that instant authorization using biometrics makes it easier to use the service.
I have not yet decided if I will be switching to Microsoft’s Autofill. Although I use Android, this is not the main platform for me, so there is no particular reason to escape from Keychain Access at this stage. Another thing is that there are quite many those who use Mac and Android or Windows and iOS in parallel. For them, it is just Autofill that can play the role of an indispensable tool for accessing all its sites and services.