My passwords have disappeared from System Settings.

Question

Level 1

14 points

My passwords have disappeared from System Settings.

(2019 MacBook Pro, Sonoma 14.7.4) The category "Passwords" is still there but the list is empty. I haven't made any changes recently.

Posted on Mar 29, 2025 06:37 AM

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Answer 1

Owl-53

Level 10

100,273 points

Mar 30, 2025 01:38 AM in response to betacygnus

In macOS 14 Sonoma >> Passwords etc << are stored in Keychain

If one chooses, one can avail themselves of Syncing the Keychain via using Keychain in iCloud

HOW TO SETUP APPLE’S BUILT-IN PASSWORD MANAGER BY ENABLING ICLOUD KEYCHAIN IN MACOS SONOMA & VENTURA

The Password Application per se was first introduced in macOS 15 Sequoia and in iOS 18

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Answer 2

Owl-53

Level 10

100,273 points

Mar 30, 2025 01:49 AM in response to betacygnus

Follow on

If you decide to to upGrade to macOS 15 Sequoia

Be aware that Secure Notes that exist in Sonoma should still be available

The cavauet being you can not longer create New Secure Notes

Very Good User Tip from well respected contributor @MrHoffman

Migrating Keychain Access secure notes to… - Apple Community

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Answer 3

betacygnus Author

Level 1

14 points

Mar 29, 2025 12:05 PM in response to Yer_Man

Thanks for the response! There is not an app "Passwords" in the Applications folder, or in the Utilities folder. If it was in either of those locations, it is gone now. I also checked two previous Time Machine backups, and it is not there either. I went into a panic over this, so I went back into "System Settings" "Passwords" and rebuilt the list by re-adding all of the critical passwords, one by one, after changing each one. I've used Macs since 1996, and have never seen anything like this, have never had data disappear, thought it was weird, so I thought I would ask the experts.

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Answer 4

Yer_Man

Level 10

165,516 points

Mar 29, 2025 11:48 AM in response to betacygnus

They are in an app called - of all things - Passwords. It's in your Applications folder.

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Answer 5

Apr 5, 2025 03:47 PM in response to Yer_Man

That's in macOS Sequoia; in macOS Sonoma, the passwords are in the settings app

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