Passwords and authentication
Password AutoFill
Most people call this the phone filling in your sign in details.
AutoFill offers your saved passwords and verification codes when a sign in field appears, after confirming with Face ID or Touch ID.
This setting is present on your iPhone.
- We have this path on file but have not yet confirmed it against an official source.
Where to find it - iOS 18 and later
- Settings
- General
- AutoFill & Passwords
What it does
You choose which source AutoFill uses, so a third party password manager can replace the built in one. Verification codes and passkeys are offered the same way.
What changes
When it is on
Sign in fields offer your saved credentials.
When it is off
You type every password by hand.
Should you turn it on?
Good reasons to turn it on
- Long random passwords become painless.
- It only fills on the matching site, which defeats many phishing attempts.
Good reasons to turn it off
- You prefer to type credentials manually.
- A shared device should not offer your passwords.
Battery
No real change
Privacy
Helps
Performance
No real change
Cellular data
No real change
Storage
No real change
Out of the box: On.
Where this setting used to live
Apple moves settings between releases. This is every location we have on file.
-
iOS 18 and later
Settings > General > AutoFill & Passwords
-
iOS 14 to iOS 17
Settings > Passwords > Password Options
Questions people actually ask
- How do I use a different password manager?
- Settings, then General, then AutoFill and Passwords, and choose the app as the source.
If it is not working
- If a third party manager does not appear, enable it in the AutoFill source list.
- AutoFill checks the domain, so a password not being offered is sometimes a warning worth heeding.