lifehacker lifehacker LifeHacker LifeHacker How to set "iCloud Passwords" on your Windows computer
With the iCloud app for Windows, you can access iCloud photos, emails, calendars, etc. on your Windows PC, but the only iCloud keychain is missing.
If you're mostly using Apple products, but you're using a Windows PC when playing games at home or using your desktop, this can be quite annoying.
ICloud Keychain is arguably one of the safest and best ways to sync passwords between devices, but recently, Windows PCs have been able to access all the passwords in iCloud Keychain.
You can also use your browser extension to auto-fill your password.
How to set iCloud Passwords on Windows
First, download iCloud for Windows (make sure you have version 12.5 or higher). Open the app and log in with your iCloud account.
To use the iCloud Passwords feature, you need to enable two-factor authentication on your iCloud account, and your Windows PC also needs some form of locking.
Use Windows Hello biometric lock or a simple password lock (if you don't have this setting, the app will guide you).
Then launch the iCloud for Windows app and make sure the "password" feature is enabled. If it is not enabled, enable it and click the "Apply" button to save the settings.
Then, in the search function of Windows, open the "iCloud Passwords" app.
When you authenticate using Windows Hello, the app opens and shows you all the login names and passwords stored in your iCloud account.
Here you can view and copy your password and add new logins.
How to auto-fill iCloud Passwords in your browser
It's nice to have access to your iCloud Keychain login name and password on Windows, but it doesn't make sense if you can't do anything with it. There is no point in having only a list of login names.
Fortunately, Apple has created a password autofill extension for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge that works directly with the iCloud app.
After installing this extension, click the icon from the toolbar. Enter the 6-digit verification code from the iCloud for Windows app and you're ready to go.
The next time you get to the login page you want to autofill from your iCloud Keychain, click on the iCloud Passwords extension and select Login.
This extension will instantly auto-populate your username and password in the appropriate locations. This feature works in both directions.
When you use your browser to create a new login, the iCloud Passwords extension saves it to your iCloud Keychain and makes it available on all Apple devices.
Source: Microsoft (1, 2), Apple, Chrome Web Store
