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Passwords in the Keychain

When creating a password for an internet site and having Safari remember the password, is the password saved in Safari or does the password get saved in Keychain? Does Keychain remember all of your passwords that you have across the computer? Finally , does one need a password to initially open Keychain or can it automatically be opened when one logs into his or her account.

— Sue

Comments: One Response to “Passwords in the Keychain”

    14 years ago

    Yes, the passwords are stored in the Keychain. Run Keychain Access to view them. You can search, too. Keychain is used to remember passwords in Safari and other places. But not all third-party applications use the Keychain.
    Usually when you log in to an account on the Mac, it unlocks the main keychain. But there are tons of ways to configure it. You can use Keychain Access to change all sorts of things about the keychains, how they are accessed and what is stored there.
    But the Keychain is set up so that the vast majority of users don't need to ever mess with it. If you don't want a password available to anyone logged in as you to the Mac, then simply don't store it in the keychain. That's the easiest way.

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