Separate passwords for Mac and iCloud / Keychain Access

On my Macs, everyone with the Mac's password can login in my iCloud account, since the iCloud password is stored in Keychain / Passwords.

How can I stop that? Which entry in Keychain / Passwords do I need to remove, to have the system ask for my iCoud password, in stead of my Mac password?

And: Can I have a separate password for Keychain / Passwords, apart from my Mac login password?

(I need to give my work-Mac password now and then to colleagues, but I don't want them to access my iCloud data)

Mac Studio (2023)

Posted on Dec 28, 2025 5:36 AM

Reply
4 replies

Dec 28, 2025 6:47 AM in response to Jaydude

It is never OK to give anyone your login password to your computer and that puts far more data at risk other than your Passwords. The proper method in any work environment is to create a User Account on your Mac with specific privileges that you need for them to access.


Sorry that is not the answer you are looking for, but is standard practice in the Enterprise world for each login to not be shared by others.


A workaround for you may be to get a third party Password Manager instead of using the Keychain/Password app. While this may isolate your Passwords, all of your other data is still exposed and software could be installed without your knowledge to read those passwords if others are free to access your computer on your login.

Dec 28, 2025 8:04 AM in response to Jaydude

Jaydude wrote:

I just want the Keychain Access / Passwords and iCloud passwords separate from my Mac's. Sound safer to me, than having my Mac password unlocking all. Can't think of a reason why Apple should not provide such a choice.

I'll file another feature request.

Submitting a Feature Request using Feedback would be the way to go.


It is not safer to use the iCloud Password because your data is encrypted with the Login Password. If only the iCloud Password was used for encryption, then it would defeat the purpose of using Two Factor Authentication for devices that encrypted the data.


By default apps are installed in the global /Applications folder and shared by all users and the data stored by those Applications can be saved in a Shared folder available to others. It is only when an app has a specific end user license where it would be restricted by a User where others would not have access. That is a restriction in place by the software developer. Sharing your user account may be a way to avoid additional license fees for the software, but certainly not a standard business practice in any work environment.

Separate passwords for Mac and iCloud / Keychain Access

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