App-specific passwords are passwords for your Apple ID that let you sign in to your account and securely access the information that you store in iCloud from a third-party app. For example, use app-specific passwords with mail, contacts, and calendar services not provided by Apple. App-specific passwords maintain a high level of security and help ensure that your Apple ID password won’t be collected or stored by any third-party apps you use.
If you're signed in to iCloud for Windows, you don't need an app-specific password when using your Apple ID with third-party Microsoft apps.
To generate and use app-specific passwords, your Apple ID must be protected with two-factor authentication.
How to generate an app-specific password
- Sign in to appleid.apple.com.
- In the Sign-In and Security section, click App-Specific Passwords.
- Click Generate an app-specific password or click
, then follow the steps on your screen.
After you generate your app-specific password, enter or paste it into the password field of the app.
How to revoke an app-specific password
You can have up to 25 active app-specific passwords. If you need to, you can revoke passwords individually or all at once.
- Sign in to appleid.apple.com.
- In the Sign-In and Security section, click App-Specific Passwords.
- Click
next to a password you want to delete, or Revoke All.
After you revoke a password, the app using that password will be signed out of your account until you generate a new password and sign in again.
Any time you change or reset your primary Apple ID password, all of your app-specific passwords are revoked automatically to protect the security of your account. You'll need to generate new app-specific passwords for any apps that you want to continue using.