{
  "slug": "apple-passwords",
  "name": "Apple Passwords",
  "maker": "Apple",
  "category": "passwords",
  "verdict": "y",
  "answer": "Yes. Only you can read the passwords you save in Apple's Passwords app, and only you and the people you share with can read shared ones. Apple says it can't see them.",
  "title": "Is Apple Passwords encrypted? iCloud Keychain explained",
  "description": "Only you can read the passwords in Apple's Passwords app, and only your group can read shared ones. No post-quantum protection yet.",
  "parts": [
    {
      "key": "pass",
      "status": "y",
      "words": "Only you",
      "note": "Sealed on your device before it syncs through iCloud Keychain, even with standard iCloud protection.",
      "sources": [
        1,
        2,
        3
      ],
      "label": "Your passwords"
    },
    {
      "key": "share",
      "status": "y",
      "words": "Only you and the people you share with",
      "note": "Apple says shared passwords and groups are end-to-end encrypted.",
      "sources": [
        1
      ],
      "label": "Shared passwords"
    },
    {
      "key": "pq",
      "status": "x",
      "words": "Not yet",
      "note": "No post-quantum protection for saved passwords announced as of 25 October 2026; Apple lists it for iMessage and many connections, not for iCloud Keychain.",
      "sources": [
        4
      ],
      "label": "Post-quantum"
    }
  ],
  "extra_parts": [],
  "keys": "Your devices. Apple never has them.",
  "can_see": "Very little, by Apple's account: leak checks send Apple values worked out from your passwords, never the passwords themselves, and Apple says it doesn't store them.",
  "business": null,
  "fix": null,
  "fix_line": null,
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "can-apple-see-my-passwords",
      "q": "Can Apple see my saved passwords?",
      "a": "No. Apple says what you store in Passwords is encrypted on your device and can't be viewed by Apple [1]. Your passwords sync between devices through iCloud Keychain, which Apple built to keep them safe even if your Apple Account or iCloud itself is broken into [3].\n\nThis protection is always on. You don't need Advanced Data Protection, and it applies in the UK too [2][5]."
    },
    {
      "id": "are-shared-passwords-encrypted",
      "q": "Are shared passwords in Apple Passwords encrypted?",
      "a": "Yes. Apple says sharing is end-to-end encrypted and Apple can't view the entries you share [1]. Anyone in a shared group can edit or delete its entries. If someone leaves, they keep what they shared but lose access to the rest [1]."
    },
    {
      "id": "is-apple-passwords-quantum-safe",
      "q": "Is Apple Passwords quantum-safe?",
      "a": "Not yet. Apple's list of quantum-secure protections includes iMessage, connections to servers that support it, VPN and the link to Apple Watch, but not saved passwords [4]. No post-quantum protection for iCloud Keychain was announced as of 25 October 2026."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Passwords & Privacy",
      "publisher": "Apple",
      "url": "https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/data/en/passwords/",
      "read": "2026-10-25"
    },
    {
      "title": "iCloud data security overview",
      "publisher": "Apple",
      "url": "https://support.apple.com/en-us/102651",
      "read": "2026-10-25"
    },
    {
      "title": "iCloud Keychain security overview",
      "publisher": "Apple",
      "url": "https://support.apple.com/guide/security/icloud-keychain-security-overview-sec1c89c6f3b/web",
      "read": "2026-10-25"
    },
    {
      "title": "Quantum-secure cryptography in Apple operating systems",
      "publisher": "Apple",
      "url": "https://support.apple.com/guide/security/secc7c82e533/web",
      "read": "2026-10-25"
    },
    {
      "title": "Apple can no longer offer Advanced Data Protection in the United Kingdom to new users",
      "publisher": "Apple",
      "url": "https://support.apple.com/en-us/122234",
      "read": "2026-10-25"
    }
  ],
  "changes": [
    {
      "date": "2026-10-25",
      "text": "First published."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "google-password-manager",
    "1password",
    "bitwarden",
    "safari"
  ],
  "url": "https://isitencrypted.com/apple-passwords/",
  "checked": "2026-10-25"
}