We have a few short and sweet notes for you today, with two of them being about a new and improved password management API in iOS 12:
- Password Autofill in iOS 12 is going to make it possible for third-party password managers like 1Password, Dashlane and LastPass to work seamlessly with QuickType for super-fast password entry
- iOS 12 is also adding the ability to share passwords with others through the use of AirDrop
- Facebook confesses to a problem last month that affects about 14 million users; some of their private posts were made public
- Still grandfathered into the original AT&T unlimited data plan? AT&T is going to raise your rates next month from $40 to $45.
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Text Version
This is Steve Sande for Apple World Today, and you’re listening to the AWT News Update podcast for Thursday, June 7th, 2018. This week’s podcast is sponsored by Digiarty’s new macXvideo 4K video processing and sharing app. It’s free, and you can get more information about macXvideo here.
One of the features of iOS 12 that was announced on Monday is called Password Autofill. This is like the autofill that works with iCloud Keychain, but with a new API that allows third-party developers with password management apps to integrate their existing apps into autofill. This was something that three leading password manager developers — 1Password, Dashlane and LastPass — asked for last year in a joint request, and Apple listened. In fact, as soon as the 1Password team heard about the new API, they apparently created a demo almost immediately. You’ll simply need to tap on the QuickType bar to access credentials that are saved in 1Password or iCloud Keychain, then tap on the one you want to use. This should not only make it easier and faster to enter passwords from third-party password manager apps, but also encourage wider adoption of those apps.
Speaking of password managers, one of the best features of those apps is that they make it possible for you to use very difficult-to-crack passwords without having to remember them. But what if you want to share one of those passwords with your spouse or a friend? Apple has made life a lot easier in iOS 12 by making it possible to share passwords from the iOS Password Manager via AirDrop. This works with both iOS 12 and macOS Mojave, and users on both devices will need to authenticate via Touch ID, Face ID or a password before the password can be sent or saved. There’s also a way to ask Siri to get your passwords, with Siri opening iCloud Keychain once you authenticate.
Facebook has done it again, and by done it again, I mean they’ve screwed up. Up to 14 million users are being notified that their posts were accidentally changed from private to public due to a bug last month. This software flaw was live for about 10 days last month, and users didn’t get any warning. The company has fixed the flaw and is notifying those users who are affected, and the company’s chief privacy officer made a statement: “We’d like to apologize for this mistake.”
There are still a few really lucky iPhone users who have been grandfathered into AT&T’s unlimited data plans. Next month, AT&T is raising the monthly rate for those users from $40 to $45, probably because the average data use per user continues to creep up.
That’s all the news for today – join me tomorrow afternoon for the next edition of the AWT News Update.
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