Here’s how to switch from 1Password to Apple Passwords

A password manager used to be one of the most important third-party applications anyone could have. It’s what made it so effective to have strong, unique passwords for every app, website and online service we used.

When Apple Passwords launched, however, the writing was on the wall for paid apps and subscriptions. The price increase recently announced by 1Password looks set to entice more people to make the switch – and it’s very easy to do…

A password manager is not an option

In the early days of Internet services, it was common for people to use one password for everyone. In most cases, that password will be weak and easy to guess by anyone who knows it. An alarming number of non-techies still do this today.

It’s scary because it means that the security of every online service you use is only as good as the security of the least secure website you access. Every time there is a data breach and hackers get a login to any website, they will quickly use automated processes to try that login against high value targets like financial services companies and Apple accounts.

Using a password manager to have strong, unique passwords for every online service is something I’ve been pushing for over a decade now, and it’s an absolute staple these days.

Many people are switching to Apple Passwords

Apple has long provided a built-in password manager in the form of Keychain, which later evolved into iCloud Keychain. It worked fine, but the third-party password managers were both competent and friendly.

That changed last year when Apple revamped things completely with a dedicated password app. This has been compared to paid third-party apps in terms of both functionality and user-friendliness, which made me make the switch – and I know many of you have too. I’ve been using it ever since and I haven’t experienced any downtime.

1Password yesterday announced steep price increases, with individual plans going up from $35.88 to $47.88 per year and family plans going up from $59.88 to $71.88. From the reader comments, it sounds like this will be the message for many people to switch to Apple Passwords.

“I just canceled my renewal that is due in April.”

“It’s time to go. There’s no reason to sign up! Bye bye!”

“Looks like I have a subscription to cancel.”

“It’s falling like a stone! It’s nuts! Moving to an apple.”

“I’m so sick of being scammed by registry software and I’ve done my best to avoid it. The ios passwords app is more than enough for my needs. Bye bye 1password!”

How can you change

Fortunately, it’s very easy to switch from a third-party password manager to Apple Passwords, and this is true with 1Password. All you have to do is export your database from 1Password and import it into Passwords.

Below are the instructions for Mac, but you can also do it on iPhone.

Extract passwords from 1Password

1. Open and launch the 1Password app on your Mac
2. From the menu bar, File > Export and select the account you want to export
3. Enter your account password
4. If you are asked to select a format, select it CSV and select Extract Data
5. Select where you want to export your 1Password data and select Open it

(If you’re using 1Password 7 instead of 1Password 8, you can find instructions here.)

Import your passwords to Apple Passwords

1. Open the Passwords app and confirm
2. From the menu bar, File > Import passwords to a file
3. Select the CSV file

Safely delete the CSV file

Remember to immediately delete the CSV file after importing! Unless you have something in your recycle bin that you may need to recycle, it is highly recommended that you empty your recycle bin immediately afterwards.

Photo by Zulfugar Karimov on Unsplash