Keychain Access in macOS 15.2 can no longer create "Secure Note" items

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Keychain Access in macOS 15.2 can no longer create "Secure Note" items

In macOS Sequoia 15.2 (24C101) it appears that Keychain Access items of the kind "secure note" can no longer be created. "New secure note" has been available in the File menu in all prior versions of Keychain Access. Now, the only option is for "New password item". This type of item is however not appropriate for notes.

I hope this is just an oversight or a bug. For over a decade, I have used a custom keychain containing important secure notes as part of a deliberate separation of information from my primary password manager. This oversight in the new Keychain Access has now broken this very important aspect of my security workflow. And, to make it clear, this functionality is not available in the new Passwords app, nor is my use case appropriate to use the Notes app.

I have submitted this feedback to Apple as a "bug" but am wondering if anyone has thoughts or insights on if this is likely an oversight or bug that will be fixed. Or am I kidding myself that Apple will fix this now that they clearly plan on end-user interaction with Keychain Access to go away in favor of the Passwords app (which currently does not have the capability to store "notes").

Mac mini (M4)

Posted on Dec 24, 2024 8:26 AM

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Answer 1

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FishingAddict Author

Level 4

3,774 points

Feb 22, 2025 8:42 AM in response to PixelRogue1

I certainly understand your frustration. I would suggest submitting official Product Feedback - Apple so Apple knows why these features were valuable to you. Although the keychain changes affected my use case as well, I luckily did not rely on Keychain for my primary password manager and was able to meet my needs by moving the specific information that I had in Keychain secure notes to the new Notes application (using a separate passphrase and not syncing to iCloud).

I am actually encouraged at what may become of the Passwords application over time. Keychain was always an application that few typical users understood, and with an interface that was unapprochable to most. Hopefully having a native password manager on Apple devices will encourage non-technical users to begin using a password manager.

I agree with you that Passwords seems to be in its infancy currently, only providing minimal functionality. As someone that has used a full-featured 3rd party password manager for decades, I don't see myself as the target audience for Passwords, but I'm glad Apple is providing it for those with more basic needs. It sounds like you are in the same boat where you need a more robust password manager. If you are looking for a local only password manager, you may want to try out the open source KeePassXC (https://keepassxc.org/). If you are comfortable with cloud password managers (with the added benefit of being cross-platform), the two best by far (in my informed opinion) are 1Password (https://1password.com/) and Bitwarden (https://bitwarden.com/).

I hope you find a suitable solution to the features you lost in the recent changes in Keychain functionality.

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Answer 2

FishingAddict Author

Level 4

3,774 points

Jan 21, 2025 9:51 AM in response to VALLADAO

Yes. Secure Notes in Keychain are a depreciated feature so I migrated to using the Notes application using the secure option using a strong encryption passphrase that is different from my Apple Account. I’m currently not syncing notes with iCloud but after reading the security documentation on the new Notes, I would be confident syncing them if I had that need. Just don’t forget the separate password you use because there is no recovering from the strong encryption in use.

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Answer 3

FishingAddict Author

Level 4

3,774 points

Dec 24, 2024 9:00 AM in response to leroydouglas

Thank you for such great information.

Reading just a little bit of the Keychain API documentation confirms that my file-based keychain is on the way to being depreciated. Therefore, I'll do some experimentation with Notes and see if it suits my needs. It just feels so wrong to store anything related to credentials or secrets in an application called "Notes". However, I do understand that Notes has recently been redesigned and uses modern cryptography and security measures. End-users were going to store important things in Notes anyways, so thanks to Apple for securing it appropriately.

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Answer 4

Feb 22, 2025 6:12 AM in response to VALLADAO

Running into so many issues w/the (not well publicized/documented) decommissioning of Apple KeyChain.

1 - Secure notes: Not part of Passwords app.

2 - Secure notes: No way to open them now, w/errors reading "Access to this item is restricted. (-25294)

3 - Secure notes: No way to create them (and no, won't use Apple Notes to store them)

4 - DMG passwords: Not part of Passwords app. No way to access, create or manage in Passwords.

Apple Keychain has been a heavily used staple now for well over a decade. If Apple moves to Passwords, please don't kick the rest of us to the curb like this. We need ALL Keychain data to be imported, not just web passwords. We need support for DMG, Sparse Images, Disk Images and the like.

I have been, in good faith and with due diligence, seeking out other ways to adjust to this change including serious consideration to switching to a 3rd party application to manage passwords. I have on in use now for about 2 months and it falls so short of Apple Keychain, and Apple Passwords doesn't cut it.

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Answer 5

Dec 24, 2024 8:33 AM in response to FishingAddict

FishingAddict wrote:

In macOS Sequoia 15.2 (24C101) it appears that Keychain Access items of the kind "secure note" can no longer be created. "New secure note" has been available in the File menu in all prior versions of Keychain Access. Now, the only option is for "New password item". This type of item is however not appropriate for notes.

this functionality is not available in the new Passwords app, nor is my use case appropriate to use the Notes app.

I have submitted this feedback to Apple as a "bug" but am wondering if anyone has thoughts or insights on if this is likely an oversight or bug that will be fixed.

ref: Secure features in the Notes app - Apple Support

Store confidential information securely using Notes on Mac - Apple Support

On Mac keychain APIs and implementations | Apple Developer Documentation

no further insight or insider information

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Answer 6

Dec 31, 2024 5:00 AM in response to FishingAddict

Good luck to you using notes when you wake up in the middle of the night and realize the “secure” notes that you thought you were storing On-Device (mac/macbook) were actually defaulted to save in ICLOUD. I still have to verify the default storage location on every OS iteration making sure that it did not change my default storage location from On-Device to ON-ICloud. Should you ever decide to end your Icloud account in the future, The first thing an Iphone thief looks at on your iphone are your notes to get your bank account user names and passwords. So, if you are logged into your icloud account on your iphone those encrypted notes are unencrypted and readable to a thief.

[Edited by Moderator]

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Answer 7

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,120 points

Dec 30, 2024 1:52 PM in response to macs-rock

Good luck to you using notes when you wake up in the middle of the night and realize the “secure” notes that you thought you were storing On-Device (mac/macbook) were actually defaulted to save in ICLOUD.

Oh, the horror. I'm surprised you have not died of fright by now.

I still have to verify the default storage location on every OS iteration making sure that it did not change my default storage location from On-Device to ON-ICloud.

Why not just disable Notes in iCloud?

Should you ever decide to end your Icloud account in the future, you may have to pay Apple a ransom for your notes.

Or, you could just export them before you end your Apple Account.

Or, you could even just not use Notes with iCloud. Crazy, I know.

The first thing an Iphone thief looks at on your iphone are your notes to get your bank account user names and passwords. So, if you are logged into your icloud account on your iphone those encrypted notes are unencrypted and readable to a thief.

The first thing a thief would look at on my iPhone is the unlock screen. Locked notes are not automatically unlocked when you are logged into iCloud. They aren't event automatically unlocked when you unlock the iPhone.

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Answer 8

FishingAddict Author

Level 4

3,774 points

Dec 31, 2024 10:14 AM in response to Barney-15E

Thanks for your additional insight. I agree with your responses as I have indeed carefully considered the risks that "macs-rock" has concerns about (some of which are invalid).

I have:

1) Disabled Notes sync to iCloud and am a meticulous checker of all settings on my devices (but would honestly feel safe allowing them to sync considering my threat model and (2) below)

2) Used a unique and strong Notes lock password that is different from my iCloud password.

3) Considered fallback options should my iCloud account become unavailable in the future (which I have no plans to discontinue)

4) I trust Apple's technologies, have a strong understanding of how they work, and make informed use of them.

Therefore, I can sleep just fine at night understanding that my information is well protected.

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Answer 9

VALLADAO

Level 1

12 points

Jan 21, 2025 3:01 AM in response to FishingAddict

Hi FishingAddict

I'm facing the same issue.

Did you find a solution for it?

Tks!!

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Answer 10

Feb 14, 2025 9:43 AM in response to Barney-15E

Immature, disrespectful reply.

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