Using app-specific passwords

App-specific passwords are a feature of two-step verification for Apple ID. They allow you to sign in to your account securely when using apps that don't natively support two-step verification.

When your Apple ID is protected with two-step verification, you'll need to use an app-specific password to sign in to your account using any apps or services that don't support entering two-step verification codes. This maintains a high level of security and ensures that your primary Apple ID password won’t be collected or stored by any third-party apps you might use.

Generate an app-specific password

  1. Go to My Apple ID.
  2. Select Manage your Apple ID and sign in.
  3. Select Password and Security.
  4. Click Generate an App-Specific Password and follow the steps on your screen.

After you generate your app-specific password, enter or paste it into the password field of the app as you would normally.

Manage app-specific passwords

You can have up to 25 active app-specific passwords at any given time. If you need to, you can revoke passwords individually or all at once.

To revoke app-specific passwords: 

  1. Go to My Apple ID.
  2. Select Manage your Apple ID and sign in.
  3. Select Password and Security.
  4. Select View History.
  5. Select Revoke next to a password, or select 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 will be revoked automatically to protect the security of your account. You'll need to generate new app-specific passwords for any apps you would like to continue using.

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