Updated app from Apple brings iCloud Passwords to Windows

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The updated iCloud for Windows and new iCloud Passwords app. (We've blacked out some private information here, obviously.)
Enlarge / The updated iCloud for Windows and new iCloud Passwords app. (We’ve blacked out some private information here, obviously.)
Samuel Axon

Apple has released a new version of iCloud for Windows, numbered 12.5. The update adds the ability to access and manage passwords saved in iCloud from a Windows machine, a feature that users have long requested.

Apple has been gradually adding more support for iCloud passwords on non-Apple platforms with mixed results. The company released a Chrome extension that synced iCloud passwords with Chrome. But like this new iCloud Passwords app, it did the bare minimum and not much else.

Still, this addition is welcome for users who primarily live in the Apple ecosystem (and thus use Apple’s iCloud password locker) but who sometimes have to use Windows. For example, some folks use an iPhone or a Mac most of the time but have a Windows PC that is only used to play games that can’t be played on the Mac.

Previously, those users had to whip out an Apple device to look up a password, then type it in manually on the Windows PC to log in to an account. Options were even more limited for iCloud password manager users who needed to use a Windows device to create a new account that would later be accessed on other platforms.

Now, users can launch a bare-bones password manager application in Windows, letting them access or add passwords.

We’re not kidding when we say the new application is bare-bones; it does exactly the minimum and nothing else. If your daily driver is a Windows machine, this new app won’t do anything to convince you to switch from something more robust like 1Password.

The iCloud Passwords application can be launched from the Start menu or placed on the desktop or taskbar, and it’s set up automatically when you download or upgrade to iCloud for Windows 12.5 from the Microsoft Store. Further, the iCloud for Windows app has some new settings to enable or disable syncing with Chrome or Edge extensions for iCloud passwords.

Here are Apple’s release notes for the update:

What’s new in this version

  • View and manage your saved passwords on your Windows PC with the new iCloud Passwords app
  • Sync your passwords across devices and PC in Edge using the iCloud Passwords Extension

As it often does, Apple has published a support document on its website that details how the app works and what you can do with it. Check out the document if you want to take a closer look. You can download iCloud for Windows right now; the update is available to everyone.

Listing image by theaucitron

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1787787