Microsoft Authenticator might soon work as a password manager on iOS

By Sean Endicott
last updated

Microsoft Authenticator could soon be much more useful on iOS.

Microsoft Authenticator Ios Account
Microsoft Authenticator Ios Account (Image credit: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • Microsoft Authenticator may soon be able to manage your passwords.
  • The beta version of Microsoft Authenticator has an option to auto-fill passwords now.

Microsoft Authenticator may soon support password management on iOS. The app already allows you to unlock accounts using two-factor authentication, but the ability to manage and autofill passwords would make it much more useful. The Spanish blog Microsofters saw the new functionality working on a beta version of Microsoft Authenticator, so it seems likely that it will be available soon.

Right now, you can attempt to enable Microsoft Authenticator to auto-fill your passwords on iOS, but you'll be hit with a "Coming soon" notification. On the beta version of the app, you'll see a "Passwords" page that contains passwords saved on your Outlook account.

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Microsoft Authenticator Settings

If you go through Settings on your iPhone, you can replace iCloud with Microsoft Authenticator.

Protect your Microsoft account with two-step verification – here's how

For people that already use Microsoft Edge as their browser of choice, having passwords saved to the browser automatically sync to iOS could be very useful. It could also allow Microsoft Authenticator to replace iCloud password syncing, which is limited to iOS and macOS devices.

The new feature appears to be rolling out gradually to beta users on iOS.

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Microsoft Authenticator


This app makes it easy to set up two-factor authentification that works with a fingerprint, face ID, or PIN.

Sean Endicott
Sean Endicott
News Writer and apps editor

Sean Endicott brings nearly a decade of experience covering Microsoft and Windows news to Windows Central. He joined our team in 2017 as an app reviewer and now heads up our day-to-day news coverage. If you have a news tip or an app to review, hit him up at sean.endicott@futurenet.com (opens in new tab).

5 Comments
  • Authenticator needs a PC app and browser plugin before it can replace Bitwarden. I'd also like to see them adopt a U2F/FIDO2 standard key like what Yubico has.
  • I have always distrusted third party services for storing passwords. If Microsoft Authenticator becomes a full fledged password manager, that would be great. Currently I have all my passwords stored in my Apple account. The only trouble with that I need to have an Apple device at all times to see my passwords. If ever I lose my iPhone or iPad I won't be able to see my passwords. I already use MS Authenticator as 2FA for all my accounts, and if it would also store my passwords I would definitely move all my passwords from my Apple account to Microsoft, provided that this feature becomes available on Authenticator for Android as well, and preferably Windows too.
  • Great. Did anybody tell them that putting passwords and 2FA tokens in one place effectively destroys the whole idea of 2FA?
  • Heh, that's a good point. I would hope they are segregate in some fundamental way...
  • Every time I see Microsoft apps and features coming to Apple first—and sometimes implemented more elegantly, I wonder if I should be switching to macOS/iOS instead of Windows/Android...