How to Look at Passwords Saved on a Mac. Safety is the most essential thing on your Mac or any other machine. Using a different password for each account means adhering strictly to safety suggestions. Your Mac will even suggest passwords, but how do you remember all of them?
It would be best if you had perfect memory to remember long strings of characters. The Keychain Access app is a big help, though. Read on to see out how to see the passwords that have been saved.
Keychain Access
The Keychain Access app puts all your Mac’s passwords in one place. In addition, it keeps app passwords, such as the ones you use to connect to Wi-Fi networks. You can also find Safari passwords there. This is also the site to find the various digital keys and certificates Mac OS uses for encryption and verification, but more later.
How to Use Keychain Access
Apple stores your passwords in its Keychain so you can quickly and efficiently access your accounts. The Apple Keychain stores your passwords on all your devices, allowing you to easily access any account you handle from any device. In this part, we’ll talk about how to access your Apple Keychain on your Mac, which is important for this article.
Follow these steps to open Keychain:
- To open the Spotlight, press Space + Command on the computer.
- Then, click “Keychain Access” and type “Keychain.”
- Next, on the left, click “Login” or “iCloud,” and then double-click on the version you want to see.
- Click the box that says “Show Password” in the lowest left corner of the window that pops up. Then, type in your Mac’s unlock password.
You can start Keychain Access in more than one way. For example, you can click Launchpad, choose Utilities, and then choose the Keychain app. Instructions for older versions of macOS are listed below.
password
When you first open the app, the layout, links, and information seem like a lot. But it should be effortless to find the password you want, and the app makes it easy to search. What you need to do is detailed below.
Step 1
First, be sure you make the right choice. Then, select Passwords from the Category menu at the base left of the app window to view the saved passwords. The main window shows all the accounts, the type of password, and the date it was last changed.
Step 2
Double-tap or click on an account to display a pop-up window with more actions. As it says, you don’t have to look through the whole list. Instead, use the Search bar. For example, if you type Facebook, the app will offer you a checklist of all the accounts on this social network.
Step 3
When you click the small box in front of “Show password,” another window asks you to provide the password for your Mac. This is the password you use to unlock the computer. Once you bring that out of the way, you can see the account’s password.
Important Notes
Web-based apps and services have a small @ icon in front of their accounts. There is a pen icon on other accounts. You can find the passwords for Wi-Fi, some apps, and macOS features here.
If you didn’t save the password for a certain account, it would say “Password Not Saved” next to the account name. If you don’t do that, you’ll be able to see the email address or digital spot that goes with that account.
Other Keychain Categories
As we said before, macOS has a few more security-related groups. Here’s a quick summary of each one.
- Keys: This one is for encrypting programs, and it normally has a lot of iCloud and Messenger keys.
- Certificates/My Certificates: Safari and some other web-based apps use these certificates to check if a website is real. Of course, this also goes for any online service or app that wants access to your information.
- Private Notes: This is where people who use Notes a lot will find all of their private notes. Fun fact: This is the feature of macOS that is least used.
How to See Saved Passwords on Safari
Using Safari is the easiest way to see some of your passwords. But, of course, this method only works if you save the passwords with Safari in the first place. In any case, here are the actions to follow.
Step 1
Start Safari and choose Preferences. You can do this quickly by pushing CMD + on your computer.
Click the “Show passwords for selected websites” box in the Passwords tab’s front row. A window app asks you to provide the Mac password to gain administrative powers.
Step 2
Once inside, you can see all the accounts and passwords you’ve saved. But behind the dots, the exact mixture of characters is hidden. To reveal the combination, click on those dots.
The interesting thing is that Safari’s Password menu has a timer and a maximum number of hits. This means the menu will lock itself if you switch to another window on your Mac. The same thing happens when you connect on more than three or four passwords.
Can You Do It on iPhone?
Yes, you can see the passwords saved on an iPhone. And if you use iCloud, all your saved passwords will be the same on all your devices.
In short, open the Settings app, swipe down, and tap or click on Passwords & Accounts. After selecting Websites and App Passwords, provide your Touch ID or Face ID to gain access.
The accounts are listed alphabetically, and you can also find your way around using the Search bar. The password will show in the next window when you tap on an account.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some better answers to the questions you ask most often.
My Mac unlock password isn’t letting me access Keychain. What do I do?
If you can’t access your Keychain from your Mac, you’re not totally out of luck. To unlock your Mac, you’ll need to reset the password to its factory defaults. This is how:
1. In your Mac’s top right corner, click “Keychain.” Then, click on ‘Preferences.’
2. Hit “Reset Default Keychains…”
Now, you can log in to Keychain again with the same password you use to unlock your Mac.
What do I do if a password is outdated in my Keychain?
If you look through your passwords in Apple’s Keychain and see that some need to be corrected or updated, it’s easy to fix. First, open Safari and go to the page you want. Type in your login details next, but don’t click “Login” yet.
Note: Sign out of your account if you are already logged in.
Once you’ve put your password into the field, click the keychain icon. Click ‘Save Password’ after that.
The Key to Everything
Ultimately, it’s easy to see the saved passwords, and the best feature is that you don’t need to use third-party apps. So even though the default password manager could be easier to use, this is a small problem.
Did you need to remember which password? Have you used a password manager from a third party? Please tell us what you assume in the comments area.