icloud keychainiCloud Keychain is a feature of your Apple account that you can use to keep your website login credentials, personal details, credit card details, and wireless network information up to date and available across all your Apple devices.

With so many usernames and passwords to remember these days, iCloud Keychain provides a convenient way of always having this information at hand. And with its AutoFill feature, iCloud Keychain can even enter your credentials for you when required.

It's also very secure, thanks to Apple's use of end-to-end encryption. This means that only you can access your information, and only on devices where you're signed in to iCloud. Keep reading to learn how to enable iCloud Keychain on your iOS devices.

How to Enable iCloud Keychain on Your iPhone or iPad

  1. Open the Settings app and tap your Apple ID banner at the top of the Settings menu.
  2. Tap iCloud.
  3. Scroll down the list and select Keychain.
  4. Toggle on the iCloud Keychain switch and enter your Apple ID password if prompted.

icloud keychain 1
If this is the first time you've enabled iCloud Keychain, you'll be asked to create an iCloud Security Code or use your existing device passcode. You'll also need to enter a phone number where you can receive SMS messages for authorization purposes. If you've already enabled iCloud Keychain in the past, you'll be prompted to enter the passcode that was used to set it up previously.

Accessing Your Login Details in iCloud Keychain

With iCloud Keychain enabled, Apple's Autofill feature will fill in your login credentials for you whenever you come across the relevant input fields on a website or in an app. On occasion, you may encounter a login screen that doesn't play nice with Autofill. In such cases, you'll need to copy and paste your username and password manually. Here's how it's done.

  1. Open the Settings app on your iOS device.
  2. Tap Accounts and Passwords.
  3. Tap App & Website Passwords and use Touch ID if prompted.
  4. Tap the relevant login entry in the list, or using the search field at the top of the Passwords screen, type in the name of the app or website for which you need login credentials.
  5. Long press on the username/password and tap the Copy pop-up option.
  6. Now navigate back to the relevant app or website, long press the username/password input field, and then tap the Paste pop-up option.

icloud keychain 2
Note that you can delete login credentials by tapping Edit at the top right of the Passwords screen. You can also tap a website entry and use the Edit option to change existing username and password fields.

Adding Credit Cards and Personal Information

You can add personal information and credit card information to iCloud Keychain at any time using your iPhone or iPad, after which it will be available across all of your devices. Simply follow these steps:

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Tap Safari.
  3. Tap AutoFill.
  4. To add personal information, tap My Info and select your contact card from the list of contacts. To add credit card details, tap Saved Credit Cards and then tap Add Credit Card.

icloud keychain 3
The last screen you see here also includes three toggles for selectively disabling/re-enabling AutoFill functions, which can come in handy if someone else is going to be using your iPhone or iPad.

Top Rated Comments

jclo Avatar
80 months ago
HomePod setup and use requires iCloud Keychain to be turned on. I’m gonna assume that’s why it was posted.
Yep, this is why we've posted this and our two-factor authentication how to. HomePod preparation. https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/apple-id-two-factor-authentication/
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gim Avatar
80 months ago
iCloud Keychain is awful. I‘ve been using this since release and years later it’s still an unreliable mess. I just had to sign in and out of iCloud on all my devices last weekend because keychain had stopped syncing new passwords, like usual. This has happened every couple of months over the last 4 years for me.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Macaholic868 Avatar
80 months ago
Sure it’s a slow news day but these kinds of articles are helpful for both newbies and long time casual users / Apple news consumers who may not always be aware of everything their iPhone and the latest iOS release can do.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DaPizzaMan Avatar
80 months ago
iCloud Keychain is awful. I‘ve been using this since release and years later it’s still an unreliable mess. I just had to sign in and out of iCloud on all my devices last weekend because keychain had stopped syncing new passwords, like usual. This has happened every couple of months over the last 4 years for me.
Never had this issue before.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
newyorksole Avatar
80 months ago
HomePod setup and use requires iCloud Keychain to be turned on. I’m gonna assume that’s why it was posted.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
picaman Avatar
80 months ago
Ugh. 1Password please.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18 Will Finally Bring This Android Feature to iPhone

Monday March 25, 2024 6:42 am PDT by
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18....