Post by @rmondello@hachyderm.io

Here’s the blog post I promised y’all on how I recommend switching password managers in 2026! It covers:
- why your iPhone or iPad, and not your Mac, might be the place to start your switch
- when to make the switch and how to treat your “old” app going forward
- tips and tricks for switching to Apple Passwords, if that’s where you’re going (can be skipped!)
- the recent controversy in password management and some thoughts on values

https://rmondello.com/2026/09/07/switching-password-managers-2026/

8 Boosts

0 Likes

Darren :verified: :verified:

@lywyn@mstdn.social 54 min. ago

@rmondello I signed up for a year of NordPass and then was immediately blocked from using with work machines due to security policy. NO VPNs. Which is enforced by blocking the authentication websites for VPN services. NordVPN uses the same authentication site for NordPass so blocked. I was advised to use s service that did not offer a VPN service as well 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Ricky Mondello

@rmondello@hachyderm.io 2 min. ago

@lywyn big oooof. hopefully you can get your money back?

John Ulrik

@ujay68@mastodon.world 1 hr. ago

@rmondello Talking about features, also of other PW managers: 1. There’s an iOS feature that forces FaceID or TouchID for some access on stolen devices, disabling the device code. Does this extend to the Apple Passwords app? 2. Any chance of getting attachments on a list of possible features? That’s the one reason I use an extra local non-synced keepass db for some secret information.

J.P. Stewart

@jpsays@mastodon.social 1 hr. ago

@rmondello

Thank you for this!

I was delaying and thinking too hard about how to transfer.

I had no idea. But this really did make it easy and indeed covered passkeys too.

Thanks as well for your work making this possible and for sharing your thoughts. Technology, just as society, isn’t morally neutral, agree. (Hence, why I’m interested in this.)

Bitwarden Screenshot

Import successful!
1,213 items successfully imported
Passwords 1135
Passkeys 21
Cards 3
Identities 2
Secure notes 50
SSH keys 2 — Bitwarden Screenshot Import successful! 1,213 items successfully imported Passwords 1135 Passkeys 21 Cards 3 Identities 2 Secure notes 50 SSH keys 2

Farhan Ahmed

@macronaut@mas.to 1 hr. ago

@rmondello this is wonderful; thank you!

I have started the migration away from 1Password to Apple Password. This should fine in the interim.

The two things that isI don’t necessary like are that, 1.) the idea of the password manager updates tied to OS updates; to me that is a coupling that does not make sense. And 2.) Apple Password is bad at cross browser (Safari is not my primary browser) and platform interoperability.

Again, not really a deal breaker in the short term; but more than likely I will be looking at another migration to something that works better cross platform and cross browser.

cthos 🐱

@cthos@mastodon.cthos.dev 1 hr. ago

@rmondello Oh hey I didn't know you were responsible for breaking CXF into its own proposal. Neat.

John Ulrik

@ujay68@mastodon.world 1 hr. ago

@rmondello Thanks for the write-up and for taking such a clear ethical stance.

Chris Walker

@cwalkatron@mastodon.social 2 hr. ago

@rmondello This is great! Any possibility of an Apple Passwords app on Linux?

leo vriska :light2:

@leo@60228.dev 3 hr. ago

@rmondello out of curiosity (this wouldn't actually benefit me), are there plans for a web client for linux/chromeos like google's password manager has?

Ricky Mondello

@rmondello@hachyderm.io 2 hr. ago

@leo I can’t comment on future plans, but if that’s something that’d make your life better, you are not best served by Apple Passwords today. (I’m personally a fan of Bitwarden because of their cross platform flexibility while being a good citizen on platforms..)

vera grey :verifiedplural:

@QuietMisdreavus@squad.town 3 hr. ago

@rmondello i recently switched from Bitwarden to Apple Passwords. i learned firsthand about the iOS-native transfer functionality when i started off with the “old way” and realized that none of my passkeys moved over 😅

it bums me out that there’s no Linux or Android support, but right now those OSs are secondary experiences for me and i’m fine leaving them out

good post!

Ricky Mondello

@rmondello@hachyderm.io 2 hr. ago

@QuietMisdreavus I recommend Bitwarden for folks who spend non-trivial amounts of time on Linux and Android. Cross-platform, but they put the effort in to be a good platform citizen.

Proxfox Virtual Environment 🦊

@tay@tech.lgbt 3 hr. ago

@rmondello
> Your credentials are yours to take and manage. [...] We just needed to figure out how to enable that in a phishing-resistant way. [...] I’m talking about manually exporting an unencrypted file and [...] that was going to be a non-starter for passkeys because a threat actor could trick someone into exporting their data and then uploading it to them. That’s called phishing.

So, they're _NOT_ mine to take and manage? I do understand the need for the general population to have these bulletproof anti-foot-gun mechanisms, but, and I don't like having to export to an unencrypted file, but the point about being locked in & controlled by your password manager is still valid because, I don't think 1P or Apple Passwords will give me my passkeys outside of an Apple Approved transfer. If I, a sufficiently savvy user device that, I do in fact want to upload my passkeys to a sketchy website, that should be my own mistake. Computer should not say no.

leo vriska :light2:

@leo@60228.dev 2 hr. ago

@tay @rmondello there's nothing stopping you from transferring to an app that uses a file-backed database (like Strongbox which is recommended on the KeePassXC site as a compatible iOS client)

Ricky Mondello

@rmondello@hachyderm.io 2 hr. ago

@leo @tay Computers shouldn’t say no to taylor. But there are so many people losing accounts and money every day due to phishing scams. As a society, we need to protect those people.

The workaround that vriska describes is available to you.

Benjamin Schmidt

@bluefirex@mastodon.online 3 hr. ago

@rmondello I was not aware of the secure transfer on iOS. That makes it easy for me switch to Apple Passwords once the 27 OSes are out (still running 15 on my Mac which misses new features there I need)

Thomas Fuchs

@thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io 3 hr. ago

@rmondello I don't personally need this, but I think a great addition to Apple Passwords (which I love) would be apps for Android and Linux. Let the powers that be know. :)