Whitepaper
Passwords and passkeys from Google to Apple: switching or using both
Lots of people who buy a Mac bring their passwords along from Chrome. Google has kept them in your Google account for years, so they’re simply there. But your Mac has its own password manager too: the Passwords app. Before you know it you have two systems that both want to save and fill, and you no longer know which password is the current one. In this whitepaper from the series Mac and the rest of the world you’ll learn how to move passwords and passkeys from Google (and from Edge, Firefox, 1Password, Bitwarden or LastPass) to Apple, what comes along and what doesn’t, and when it’s smarter not to switch at all.
What the Passwords app can do
Since macOS Sequoia and iOS 18, Passwords has been a standalone app. Before that, everything was tucked away in Safari’s settings and iCloud Keychain. On macOS Golden Gate and iOS 27 it’s a proper password manager. Here’s what it handles:
- Passwords and passkeys, synced through iCloud Keychain with end-to-end encryption across your Mac, iPhone and iPad.
- Verification codes (2FA). Scan a site’s QR code or enter the setup key, and your Mac fills in the six-digit code for you. Often that means you no longer need a separate authenticator app.
- Wi-Fi passwords for every network you’ve ever joined, with a QR code to share them.
- Shared groups. Create a group, invite people who also have an Apple Account, and the passwords in it stay in sync for everyone. Handy for the streaming service or the energy company at home.
- Security alerts for reused, weak or leaked passwords.
- Access outside Safari. On the Mac, the iCloud Passwords extension works in Chrome and Edge (since macOS Sonoma), and Apple has an extension for Firefox. On Windows you need iCloud for Windows, which brings the iCloud Passwords app and extensions for Chrome, Edge and Firefox.
What you don’t get: an Android app. More on that below, because for a lot of people that’s the whole story.
What moves and what doesn’t
Switching sounds like export and import, but not everything travels the same way.
| Type of data | Via CSV file | Via Credential Exchange |
|---|---|---|
| Username and password | Yes | Yes, if both apps support it |
| Passkeys | No | Yes, in practice mainly on iPhone and iPad |
| 2FA codes (setup keys) | Usually not | Sometimes, depends on the app |
| Notes, credit cards, addresses | Notes sometimes, the rest no | Depends on the app |
A CSV file is a plain table with columns like url, username and password. Passkeys deliberately don’t fit in there. The whole point of a passkey is that it never leaves your device as readable text.
Exporting passwords from Google and others
Google Password Manager
You can export from Chrome or from passwords.google.com. In Chrome on the Mac, open the three-dot menu, choose Passwords and autofill, then Google Password Manager. Click Settings on the left, and next to Export passwords click Download file. Confirm with your Mac password or Touch ID and Chrome saves a CSV file. On passwords.google.com the same button sits under the gear icon.
Keep in mind that you’re exporting the passwords tied to your Google account. If you also saved passkeys in Chrome, they won’t be in the file.
The others
- Microsoft Edge: Settings, Passwords (in Wallet), three-dot menu, Export passwords.
- Firefox: go to about:logins, three-dot menu, Export Logins.
- 1Password: in the Mac app, File, Export. Choose CSV.
- Bitwarden: Settings or Tools, Export vault, format .csv. Don’t pick the encrypted format, Apple can’t read it.
- LastPass: Advanced Options, Export. LastPass sometimes sends a confirmation email first.
Menus move around between versions, so if in doubt, search the app’s own help pages for “export”.
Importing into Passwords on the Mac
Importing from a file only works on the Mac, not on iPhone or iPad. Open the Passwords app and choose File > Import Passwords from File. Click Choose File, select the CSV and click Import.
Afterwards you’ll see what happened. Passwords you already had aren’t overwritten. Rows that fail show up in a list with their line number. Usually the cause is a broken or empty url in that row, for example an Android app password that has no normal web address. Move those over by hand.
Straight from Chrome via Safari
There’s a quicker route if Chrome is on the same Mac: open Safari and choose File > Import From > Google Chrome. Safari asks whether you also want to bring passwords along. They end up in the same iCloud Keychain. This only covers what Chrome can read locally. If you’re not sure everything has synced, the CSV route is more reliable.
Clean up the file
A CSV file is not encrypted. Anyone who opens it sees all your passwords in plain text. So never put it in iCloud Drive, Dropbox or an email to yourself. Keep it in your Downloads folder for the moment, import, check, then delete it. Empty the Trash as well. And make sure it didn’t quietly end up in a backup or a synced folder.
Moving passkeys with Credential Exchange
The FIDO Alliance, where Apple, Google, Microsoft, 1Password and Bitwarden work together, created a standard for moving passkeys safely from one manager to another: the Credential Exchange Protocol (CXP) and its data format CXF. No readable file is involved. The two apps talk to each other directly and you confirm with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
Apple has supported this since iOS 26 and macOS 26. Here’s where things stand in October 2026:
- On iPhone and iPad it works. In Chrome for iOS, go to Password Manager, Settings, Export Data, and pick Passwords as the destination. The other direction works too: the Passwords app has a menu option to export data to another app. 1Password and Bitwarden take part as well.
- On the Mac, barely. Passwords on the Mac does have an option to export to another app, but according to reports from September 2026 no major competitor has built the Mac side yet. So move your passkeys using your iPhone. iCloud Keychain then brings them to your Mac automatically.
- Microsoft doesn’t export. According to the same sources, passkeys in Edge or Microsoft Password Manager can’t be moved anywhere. Importing into Microsoft does work on iOS.
- Firefox doesn’t store passkeys itself. They live in your system keychain or in an extension.
If moving doesn’t work, there’s always the manual way. Sign in to the website with your old passkey or password, create a new passkey in the account settings and save it in Passwords. Then remove the old one. For your ten most important accounts that’s about fifteen minutes.
Using Chrome with Apple Passwords
You don’t have to switch to Safari to use Apple Passwords. Install the iCloud Passwords extension in Chrome from the Chrome Web Store. The first time, you link it with a six-digit code that appears on your Mac. After that, Chrome fills passwords and verification codes from your keychain and can save new ones. Passkeys go through the macOS system dialog.
Also check System Settings > General > AutoFill & Passwords. That’s where you turn on filling passwords and passkeys from Passwords. If you use a different manager like 1Password, turn Passwords off there instead, or you’ll get two suggestions on every login screen.
Avoid running two systems
The biggest risk when switching is switching halfway. Chrome keeps offering to save passwords, and then new passwords land in Google while the old ones sit in Apple. So after the move, go to Google Password Manager, Settings in Chrome and turn off Offer to save passwords and passkeys. Turn off Auto sign-in too. Your old passwords stay in Google for now, which is fine as a safety net. Only once you’re sure after a few weeks that everything works should you delete them from Google. Never do that before you’ve checked the export.
If you also have an Android phone
Honestly, this is where it gets less pretty. Apple has no Passwords app for Android, and that isn’t changing any time soon. If you have a Mac and an Android phone, Google Password Manager is often simply the best choice: it works on Android, in Chrome on your Mac and in Chrome on Windows. You lose autofill in Safari and in Mac apps, but you do have the same passwords everywhere.
If you really want to serve both worlds properly, an independent manager like 1Password or Bitwarden is the clean solution. They have apps for everything, fill on Mac, iPhone, Android and Windows, and can store passkeys. 1Password is paid, Bitwarden has a usable free tier.
The choice: stay, switch or something else
| Your situation | Advice |
|---|---|
| Mac, iPhone, iPad and nothing else | Switch to Apple Passwords. Free, built in, works everywhere in the system. |
| Mac and iPhone, plus a Windows PC | Apple Passwords with iCloud for Windows. It works, but it’s less smooth on Windows than on the Mac. |
| Mac with an Android phone | Stay with Google, or move to 1Password or Bitwarden. |
| Family with mixed devices | An independent manager with a family plan. |
| You already use 1Password or Bitwarden and you’re happy | Stay. Just turn off saving in Chrome and in Passwords. |
The main rule: pick one. Two managers that both save is worse than the weaker of the two on its own.
Step-by-step plan
- Decide where you’re going, using the table above.
- Make sure iCloud Keychain is on for your Mac and iPhone (System Settings, your name, iCloud, Passwords).
- Export your passwords from Google Password Manager or your other manager to a CSV file in Downloads.
- Open Passwords on the Mac and choose File > Import Passwords from File.
- Go through the list of failed rows and move those by hand.
- Delete the CSV file and empty the Trash.
- Move your passkeys on the iPhone using Export Data in Chrome or your other app. If that doesn’t work, create a new passkey per website.
- Move your 2FA codes by scanning a new QR code for each account in Passwords.
- Install the iCloud Passwords extension in Chrome if you keep using Chrome.
- Turn off offering to save passwords and auto sign-in in Chrome.
- Use the new setup for a few weeks. Only when everything works do you delete the old data from Google or your other manager.
And with Apple?
If all your devices are Apple, Passwords is simply good enough in 2026. It’s free, encrypted, fills in Safari and apps, handles passkeys, 2FA codes and shared groups, and there’s nothing to install. For most people a paid manager isn’t necessary.
Once Windows or Android come into the picture, you hit the limits. On Windows it works through iCloud for Windows and browser extensions, but it feels like an add-on. On Android it doesn’t work at all. And although passkeys can now be moved with Credential Exchange, that still doesn’t really happen on the Mac itself. Apple makes it easy to come in. Getting out is possible now too, but through the iPhone rather than the Mac.
This whitepaper describes the situation in October 2026, with macOS Golden Gate and iOS 27. Menus and Credential Exchange support change quickly, so if in doubt, check the help pages from Apple, Google or your own password manager.
This article is part of the Mac and the rest of the world series, where you’ll find every part in one place.