Apple Launches Open Source Project to Let Password Management Apps Create Strong Passwords

Apple today informed developers that it has launched a new open source project that's designed to let those who develop password management apps create strong passwords compatible with popular websites.

1passwordgenerate
The new Password Manager Resources open source project allows password management apps to integrate website-specific requirements used by the iCloud Keychain password manager to generate strong, unique passwords.

Many password managers generate strong, unique passwords for people, so that they aren't tempted to create their own passwords by hand, which leads to easily guessed and reused passwords. Every time a password manager generates a password that isn't actually compatible with a website, a person not only has a bad experience, but a reason to be tempted to create their own password. Compiling password rule quirks helps fewer people run into issues like these while also documenting that a service's password policy is too restrictive for people using password managers, which may incentivize the services to change.

The project also features a collection of websites known to share a sign-in system, links to website pages where users can change passwords, and more, with full details available on GitHub.

Apple says that having password managers collaborate on resources like password rules and change password URLs allows all password management apps to improve their quality with less work, plus it encourages websites to use standards or emerging standards to improve their compatibility with password managers.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
imac video apple feature

Apple Launching These 15+ Products Later This Year

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The calendar has turned to July, meaning that 2025 is now more than half over. And while the summer months are often quiet for Apple, the company still has more than a dozen products coming later this year, according to rumors. Below, we have outlined at least 15 new Apple products that are expected to launch later this year, along with key rumored features for each. iPhone 17 Series iPho...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
iPhone Car Key Kia

Here's Which Vehicles Offer iPhone Car Keys

Sunday July 6, 2025 3:03 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. Apple has a web page with a list of vehicle models that ...
iphone 17 pro render majin bu

New iPhone 17 Pro Renders Highlight Apple Logo and MagSafe Design Changes

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:43 pm PDT by
New renders today provide the best look yet relocated Apple logo and redesigned MagSafe magnet array of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Image via Majin Bu. Several of the design changes coming to the iPhone 17 Pro model have been rumored for some time, such as the elongated camera bump that spans the full width of the device, with the LiDAR Scanner and flash moving to the right side. ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
apple account card feature

Apple Account Card Expanding to More Countries

Tuesday July 8, 2025 7:34 pm PDT by
Apple is expanding the ability to add an Apple Account Card to the Wallet app to more countries, according to backend Apple Pay changes. With iOS 15.5, Apple updated the Wallet app to allow users to add an Apple Account Card, which displays the Apple credit balance associated with an Apple ID. If you receive an Apple gift card, for example, it is added to an Apple Account that is also...

Top Rated Comments

kop48 Avatar
67 months ago
Any reason why the article shows the password generator from 1Password without references? :)
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mnsportsgeek Avatar
67 months ago
The thing I’d really like to see is password generation in safari for 3rd party apps.

It’s a bit of a pain to create new accounts in 1Password with the proper url. You have to go back and forth between the app and 1Password a time or two. It’d be nice if it was more streamlined for 3rd party apps kind of like it is for keychain.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TriBruin Avatar
67 months ago

there's still going to be (and are) plenty of websites that create their own stupid password rules that no password manager that generates strong passwords will be able to comply. People are still going to have to roll their own- kinda taking away the spark of this project. - But at least it's a step in the right direction.
From the way I read it, that is the goal of this project. Once enough password managers add this feature, it should not matter (from a password generation POV), what the requirements are. The password manager will know BEFORE it generates a password.

Take an example from one of the existing websites in the password-rules.json:

According to the JSON, bhphotovideo.com has a requirement of a password max length of 15 characters. Pretend you go to that website and attempt to create an account. You use the Password Generator in Safari (or any password manager), BEFORE the password generator attempts to create a complex password, it reads the JSON and finds the bhphotovideo.com URL. It then reads the requirements (Max length 15). It immediate creates a password that fits that requirement, regardless of what your defaults are. No action needed on your part to manually change the requirements (which may not be obvious on the webpage.)

The key is (a) the list of password requirements is kept up to date. Since this is published on GitHub, anyone can make a PULL request to update. I wonder what Apple's merge requirements are going to be.

(b) Password managers integrate this in to there workflow.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NightFox Avatar
67 months ago

Any reason why the article shows the password generator from 1Password without references? :)
I'd guess that if they did reference it, people on here would be asking why they'd singled out 1Password to feature over other PWMs
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stanfield Avatar
67 months ago

Sure. Give hackers the open source code to help people generate passwords. What can go wrong? :rolleyes:
Openness enables collaboration. Black boxes maintained by a single company aren't usually the best method for strong security. I want security that shows you exactly what its doing, has been vetted by a community of security experts, and dares the hackers to break it.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bookofxero Avatar
67 months ago
It would be great if websites would have some consistency in their input validation and database schemas. I know one company that allows almost every special character but a comma - and the error message doesn't tell you which special character is the disallowed one. I used 1password and had to go through the generated password and remove each special character 1-by-1 to figure out which one was problematic.
"Hrm, octothorp? Nope. Modulus? Nope. Pipe? Nope. Asterisk? Nope. Greater than symbol? Nope. That just leaves the comma. What?! Seriously?"
It really is an awful experience and I can see why other users would resort to weak and/or reused passwords.
I've see other sites with very specific character length guidelines and other weird combinations. One site, which has since updated to something more secure, even once required 8-15 characters, letters and numbers only. If I were trying to brute force or guess a potentially weak password, wouldn't that make the dictionary size much smaller and thus easier to crack?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)