How do I manage multiple passwords for the same account in Apple's Password Manager?

I hear you - I, too, have an accumulation of passwords amassed over time.

Unfortunately, while it's hard for you to know which is the 'right' password, it's even harder for you Mac. All it knows is that you used each password at some point but it has no way to know if it's still current. That means it's up to you.

You can see a list of all the passwords your Mac is saving via System Settings -> Passwords.

Once you authenticate you should see a list of the accounts that the OS is saving for you. You'll need to scroll through this list (you can filter the list by typing into the box at the top) and click on each password to reveal it. Once you determine which password is the one you want to keep, you can delete the others.

There's really no other way to automate this, since (hopefully) only you know which are the actual correct passwords to keep.

If you find that you have somehow ended up with multiple passwords for any website, account or app and some don't work, you should simply make a note of the one that does work and delete the others for that website.

I have a very small handful of old passwords that have been handed down from previous OS versions for site that I rarely visit. Most I simply delete. If I decide later to revisit a site I'll just set a fresh account and use an Apple "Hide My Email" proxy email, set a fresh password and let the Password app manage it from there.

Passwords User Guide - Apple Support

How to use Hide My Email with Sign in with Apple - Apple Support

Zurarczurx wrote:

Get a proper password manager. Apple Passwords is a very basic password manager and really only useful for simple website/app logins which just have an account name and a password. It's no good for email, which has account name, email address. server/port/security settings and, potentially, different multiple passwords per account.

Predicated on OPs byline Mac 21.5″ 4K, macOS 13.7 Ventura

Apple's Standalone Password application does not exist

The standalone Passwords application was introduced in macOS Sequoia (macOS 15), which was released on September 16, 2024

Get a proper password manager. Apple Passwords is a very basic password manager and really only useful for simple website/app logins which just have an account name and a password. It's no good for email, which has account name, email address. server/port/security settings and, potentially, different multiple passwords per account.

IdrisSeabright wrote:

An hour? Put the settings in a text file. Do you also have a Mac? If so, you can use the Universal Clipboard to copy the information from the text file on your Mac and paste it into the field on the phone. But seriously, even if you had to copy and paste everything, I can't see how it would take you more than five minutes per account.

I copy and paste between my password app and the email settings on the iDevice. I've got eleven accounts so at ~five mins per account it's near enough an hour. That's on each device, BTW; my phone, my iPad and my spare phone. It's quicker on my Mac because cut and paste is easier. It could be much quicker but presumably no one at Apple has ever seen an email account that doesn't autoconfigure either so it's a pain in the neck. It's easier to do it in the password manager app I use instead of the Apple Password Notes field because it's a single tap to select and copy an entry in a dedicated field. If it were in a notes field then it would take twice as long because I find selecting text very difficult on iPhone.

And how often do you have to do this? I haven't had to touch the settings on my email accounts, except for my work account, for years.

I have to do it every time I get a new iDevice because email settings on these two hosts don't get transferred when I do the new iDevice setup by holding the old device next to it. Oh, and like you, work; IT changed all the server addresses a year or so ago.

The main annoyance is that the Passwords app doesn't know what email is so it doesn't autofill the IMAP password when setting up. Ditto when iOS Mail pops up with it's "Please enter the Password for mail account ....."; there's no way to open the Passwords app without cancelling the password entry box. It's like the Passwords app was written by someone who had never used an iPhone or a password manager or set up an email account.

Zurarczurx wrote:

]It's not too bad on a Mac, but on an iDevice it takes about an hour of cutting and pasting bck and forth between password manager and settings.

An hour? Put the settings in a text file. Do you also have a Mac? If so, you can use the Universal Clipboard to copy the information from the text file on your Mac and paste it into the field on the phone. But seriously, even if you had to copy and paste everything, I can't see how it would take you more than five minutes per account. And how often do you have to do this? I haven't had to touch the settings on my email accounts, except for my work account, for years.

I've never seen a password app that will allow you to enter the information for an email set up, and that will then autopopulate it when you add the account. If you have the name of one that does that, could you share?

My work accounts have different IMAP and SMTP server accounts and hence two passwords per account. Having them all in the password app means the app-switching is a little less painful.

The notes field.

Zurarczurx wrote:

It's no good for email, which has account name, email address. server/port/security settings and, potentially, different multiple passwords per account.

One rarely needs any of the server/port/security settings these days to set up an email account. Even if you do, why would you need them in a password app? Also, I've never, ever, in thirty years, had more than one password for an email account.

I've got three email providers. Two of them don't have auto-setup. When I get a new iDevice I have to set up a dozen accounts and for each one type in all the details - name, email address, IMAP and SMTP servers and passwords and check the ports. It's not too bad on a Mac, but on an iDevice it takes about an hour of cutting and pasting bck and forth between password manager and settings. My work accounts have different IMAP and SMTP server accounts and hence two passwords per account. Having them all in the password app means the app-switching is a little less painful.