I use Passwords app so why does Safari store my passwords too?

Marketqwerty wrote:

I use Passwords app on iPhone (iOS 18.4.1) and MacBook Pro (Sequoia 15.4.1). I've just discovered they are stored in Safari too! Why is this happening and how do I stop it please? I only want my passwords stored in the Password app.

There is only one copy of the passwords.

The passwords are accessible in more than one place, however.

There can be other copies of passwords in some third-party apps such as Firefox, but Safari uses the built-in keychain.

Marketqwerty wrote:

What a good idea thank you...... yes..... it dropped by 1.... spot on :-) .... so.... it's another method for exporting passwords in addition to using the Password app export function.

Guess as you said in your previous reply.... if you don't want to use it, don't use it ....

hhhmmmm.... kind of like saying to the King of a castle.... "we're going to hack/build another way in through your castle wall, but dont worry, we'll put a gate in at each side"..... anyway....

Many thanks indeed MrHoffman for your time and advice.

Nice one.

The export function is a way to migrate your passwords into a different password manager, if you don’t want to use Keychain or iCloud Keychain.

The new Passwords app is the main interface, and is intended to centralize passwords and passkeys and the embedded two-factor authentication and related functions all into one place, rather than scattered around as was previous. But lots of people are already accustomed to looking for passwords in Safari, and are only recently looking at Passwords app. That the Passwords entry in Settings disappeared at iOS 18 certainly caused a ripple or two.

Export and Import probably should be over in the Passwords app, and that’ll probably happen eventually.

Now that Passwords are in Passwords app doesn’t mean other Apple and third-party apps don’t have (secured) interfaces into (their respective parts of) the password store. They do. Keychain is the system-wide store for that.

Related reading: Use the Passwords app to create, manage, and share passwords and passkeys across Apple devices - Apple Support

Marketqwerty wrote:

I'm trying to understand why my passwords are also stored in Safari when I'm using the Password app.

Find a website password you don’t need, or can easily re-add.

Delete the password in Passwords app.

Does the password count in Safari export drop by one?

(The password store is shared. Not separate.)

Not sure what you mean by being "stored in Safari".

You can set Safari to Autofill your Passwords from the Passwords app and also at this same setting on your Mac, you can choose Edit and it will open the Passwords app if you want to make any changes. The location on the Mac to turn this off is at:

• Safari > Settings > Autofill > Username and passwords

I absolutely do not want anyone (including me) to have the ability in Safari to export my passwords in clear text unencrypted format.

I don't quite understand that concern. If you do not want to export passwords, then do not export them. What am I missing?

Marketqwerty wrote:

I'm trying to understand why my passwords are also stored in Safari when I'm using the Password app.

MrHoffman addressed that question. Safari has access to them through Passwords. It stores no duplicates.

You can try going to Safari > Settings > AutoFill, and uncheck "User names and passwords".