ChileD wrote:
This answer does NOT address what happened to the Apple password icon in Settings (creating a total panic). We are not talking about third-party password apps.
The current top-ranking reply above addresses both the third-party password apps that all too often brick themselves or disappear entirely at updates, and also addresses the arrival of the Apple Passwords app that has become available on iPhone, iPad, and macOS.
Why both? Which of those two cases was being referenced by the original post was unclear to me — prior to the Passwords app, the Apple passwords mechanisms didn’t have an app icon, but third-party password apps do — hence a reply that addressed both interpretations of the question. (And we usually find out about some new bricked or discontinued third-party password app by folks posting “where’s my passwords?” threads.)
As for changes “creating a total panic”, that concern is certainly understandable, though Apple has a long history of shuffling stuff around at big updates. In this reshuffling, passwords and passkeys storage, password security recommendations, and the integrated two-factor support all got reworked and combined into one app on each platform, and with some substantial improvements to the underlying keychain storage accompanying the new app.
Here is the Passwords app info for iPhone: Use passwords on iPhone - Apple Support
Apple usually provides an overview of the major changes in each new releases; a map of what got added, and what got shuffled. Here is the overview of the major new iOS features, including the Passwords app: What’s new in iOS 18 - Apple Support
I usually skim both the new features overview and then skim the whole users guide as various new features don’t make the overview, but that’s admittedly more reading than some would prefer. Apropos, the iOS 18 user’s guide does have a section on the Passwords app, too. Here is that user guide: iPhone User Guide - Apple Support