Texting the streaming password to your partner works, but it leaves logins scattered across chat threads. Apple has a better built-in option. You can share passwords securely with family on Apple devices using Shared Groups in the Passwords app. You create a group, add people from your Contacts, and move the logins you want to share into it.
Here’s the quick answer. The person who creates the group is the owner. Only the owner can add or remove people, rename the group, or delete it. Everyone in the group can add shared passwords and passkeys and change the ones already shared, and a change made by one person updates on everyone’s device.
Apple’s Mac guide notes that a password, passkey, or Sign in with Apple account can only be shared with one group at a time. The feature comes built into iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS, and you invite people from your Contacts rather than through Family Sharing.
What Is a Shared Group in Apple Passwords?
A Shared Group is a named set of trusted contacts who all get the same passwords, passkeys, and (on newer systems) Sign in with Apple accounts. Shared items sync through iCloud Keychain. They show up as Password AutoFill suggestions on each member’s devices, just like their own saved logins (Apple Support).
How it differs from Family Sharing: Family Sharing handles shared purchases, subscriptions, and parental controls. Shared Groups is a separate, Contacts-based feature inside the Passwords app.
Apple’s setup steps invite people from your Contacts and don’t mention Family Sharing at all, so a roommate or grandparent can be invited as long as they’re in your Contacts and their device meets the minimum software version.
Cost: Shared Groups comes built into iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS as part of the Passwords app, with nothing extra to download or buy.
Apple’s support documentation doesn’t list a separate fee or subscription for Shared Groups, and we didn’t find a stated maximum number of members in its guides.
Before You Begin: Requirements to Share Passwords Securely with Family on Apple Devices
Make sure you and everyone you’re inviting have:
- An iPhone running iOS 17 or later, an iPad running iPadOS 17 or later, or a Mac running macOS 14 Sonoma or later to share passwords and passkeys
- iOS 18, iPadOS 18, or macOS 15 Sequoia or later if you want to share Sign in with Apple accounts
- visionOS 2 or later, if anyone uses an Apple Vision Pro
- An Apple Account signed in, with iCloud Keychain turned on
- Every person you invite saved in your Contacts app
| Requirement | Passwords and passkeys | Sign in with Apple accounts |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone | iOS 17 or later | iOS 18 or later |
| iPad | iPadOS 17 or later | iPadOS 18 or later |
| Mac | macOS 14 Sonoma or later | macOS 15 Sequoia or later |
| Apple Vision Pro | visionOS 2 or later | Not stated in Apple’s guides |
| Contacts | Invitee must be in the owner’s Contacts | Same |
Source: Apple Passwords User Guide and Apple Support, retrieved October 26, 2026.
Where the Passwords app lives: The standalone Passwords app is built into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, and later. Shared password groups themselves work back to iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma. On those older versions, you manage groups from the passwords area of Settings (iPhone/iPad) or System Settings (Mac) rather than a separate app. The steps below use the Passwords app.
To check your version, go to Settings > General > About on iPhone or iPad. On a Mac, choose Apple menu > About This Mac. Compare it with the table above: iOS 17, iPadOS 17, or macOS 14 or later can use Shared Groups for passwords and passkeys, and iOS 18, iPadOS 18, or macOS 15 or later gives you the standalone Passwords app.
Tip: If you need to update, back up first. A Time Machine backup to an external SSD only takes a few minutes to set up and gives you a safety net before any major macOS update.
Step-by-Step Guide
The setup flow is the same idea on every device: create the group, add people, then move items in. The exact clicks differ, so follow the section for your device.
Step 1: Add Your Family Members to Contacts
Shared Groups only lets you add people who are already in your Contacts. Open Contacts on your iPhone or Mac. Confirm each family member has a card with the phone number or email they use for their Apple Account.
Expected result: Each person you plan to invite has a contact card with current details.
macOS: Create a Shared Group on Your Mac
Step 2: Open Passwords and Choose New Shared Group
On your Mac, open the Passwords app from your Applications folder or Spotlight (Cmd + Space, then type “Passwords”). Sign in with Touch ID or your Mac password if asked.
In the menu bar, choose File > New Shared Group.
Step 3: Name the Group and Add People
Type a name for the group, like “Family” or “Household Streaming.” Click Add People, then start typing a name from your Contacts. Add each person, then click Create.
If a contact’s name appears gray or dimmed, Apple says their device may not be using the latest software or may not support shared password groups. Skip them for now and see the troubleshooting section below.
Expected result: Your new group is created, and you’re prompted to choose what to share.
Step 4: Pick Items and Click Move
Select the passwords, passkeys, or Sign in with Apple accounts you want to share. Then click Move. The items now live in the group instead of your personal list.
After creating the group, you can choose to notify members through Messages, or select Not Now to skip that.
Expected result: The group appears in the Passwords sidebar. Invited people are prompted to accept or decline the next time they open Passwords.
iOS: Create a Group on iPhone or iPad
Step 5: Open the Shared Groups Area
On your iPhone or iPad running iOS 18 / iPadOS 18 or later, open the Passwords app and authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. Find the Shared Groups section on the main screen.
Step 6: Start a New Group and Add People
Tap the New Shared Group button in the toolbar. If you don’t see it, tap Back or Show Sidebar first to bring up your categories. Enter a name for the group, then tap Add People.
Type the name, email address, or phone number of each person, then tap Add. When everyone is listed, tap Create. These control names come from Apple’s iPhone guide; the iPad guide follows the same flow.
Step 7: Choose What to Share
Select the passwords and passkeys you want in the group, then tap Move. If you don’t want to share anything yet, tap Close. As on the Mac, you can notify the people you invited.
Expected result: The group appears under Shared Groups with your selected items inside.
Accept an Invitation (Any Family Member)
Step 8: Open the Invitation and Tap Accept
Invited family members accept on their own device. On iPhone or iPad:
- Open Passwords.
- Find the invitation. Apple’s iPhone guide lists it under Group Invitations; Apple’s troubleshooting article calls the section Invitations under Shared Groups.
- Tap the invitation (or View), then tap Accept.
The label depends on your software version, but the flow is the same: open the invitation and accept it.
Expected result: Shared items appear in the member’s Passwords app, and Apple says they’re suggested automatically when signing in on websites or in apps. That works on sites like a streaming service on Safari, or in apps like the Netflix app on an iPad.
Only accept invitations from people you know and trust. Apple recommends declining invites you don’t recognize (Apple Support).
Configuration: Who Can Do What
This is where most confusion comes from. Apple’s roles are simple: one owner and members. There are no extra admin roles and no per-person or per-item permissions.
Members can add new passwords to the group, and anyone in the group — owner or member — can also edit an existing shared password or passkey, not just add new items.
| Action | Group owner | Members |
|---|---|---|
| Add people to the group | Yes | No |
| Remove people from the group | Yes | No |
| Rename the group | Yes | No |
| Delete the group | Yes | No |
| Add passwords to the group | Yes | Yes |
| View, edit, or delete shared passwords and passkeys | Yes | Yes |
| Use shared items with AutoFill | Yes | Yes |
| Leave the group | N/A | Yes, anytime |
Owner-only actions come from Apple’s Passwords User Guide. Apple states that “anyone in the group can add passwords, and all shared passwords are kept in sync” (Apple Support).
Apple’s Personal Safety guide adds that “all group members can add, view, edit, or delete passwords at any time.” An edit made by one person reaches everyone else in the group. If someone deletes a password another member shared, the person who shared it gets a notification and has 30 days to recover it. Only share logins you’re comfortable with every member using, editing, and deleting.
The one-group-per-item rule. Apple’s Passwords User Guide states that “a password, passkey, or Sign in with Apple account can only be shared with one group.”
If you want the streaming login available to both a “Family” group and a “Grandparents” group, you can’t add it to both. A simple workaround is one broad family group, plus smaller groups for logins only some people need.
Leaving vs. being removed. Neither one reliably cuts off access to credentials that were already shared. Apple’s Personal Safety guide is explicit about this:
- Leaving: A member can leave a Shared Group at any time from their own device. Apple’s support article says that when you leave, “you take your passwords and passkeys with you.” But the Personal Safety guide warns that previous group members “may still have access to the accounts and passwords or passkeys you shared while you were in the group.” If you leave, change the passwords on your own accounts that you no longer want the group to reach.
- Being removed: Only the owner can remove someone. Apple says the removed person “may still have access to the accounts and passwords you shared while they were in the group,” and recommends changing the passwords for any accounts you no longer want them to access.
The same applies when you delete an item from a group: members may still have access to that account, so change the password if it matters.
Stop sharing or delete a group. To stop sharing a single item, open the group and follow Apple’s stop-sharing steps for that item. To end sharing completely, the owner opens the group’s settings and chooses the option to delete the group. Exact button labels can vary by OS version. Follow the “Stop sharing” and “Delete a group” sections of the Passwords User Guide for your release.
AutoFill setting. Shared items only fill in automatically if AutoFill is on. On recent versions, check Settings > General > AutoFill & Passwords on iPhone or iPad, or System Settings > General > AutoFill & Passwords on a Mac. Older versions put this setting elsewhere, so search Settings for “AutoFill” if you don’t see it.
Tips and Troubleshooting
A contact’s name is gray when you try to add them
Why it happens: Apple says a gray name means their device might not support shared password groups or may not be on the latest software.
Fix: Ask them to update their device, then try again. As a general check (not an Apple-documented fix), it also doesn’t hurt to confirm their contact card has a current phone number or email.
The invitation never arrives or won’t open from Messages
Why it happens: The device software is out of date, or the Messages link isn’t opening the app.
Fix: Update to the latest software. Then open Passwords directly and go to Shared Groups > Invitations > View > Accept (Apple Support).
You can’t add a password to a second group
Why it happens: The one-group-per-item rule.
Fix: Move the item out of its current group first, or reorganize so the people who need it share one group.
A shared item is missing on one of your devices
Why it happens: That device is below the minimum version for that item type. Sign in with Apple accounts need iOS 18, iPadOS 18, or macOS 15 or later. iCloud Keychain could also be off.
Fix: Update all your devices. Confirm each one uses the same Apple Account with iCloud Keychain on.
Quick tips
- Need to share just one password once? Apple also supports sharing a single password or passkey with AirDrop, which is handy for a one-off login.
- Name groups by purpose, like “Streaming” or “Bills.” It makes the one-group rule easier to manage.
- Mixed-device household? Shared Groups is built for Apple’s own devices — Apple lists support for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro. If anyone in your household uses Windows or Android, or you want finer permission controls, a cross-platform manager like 1Password Families or Bitwarden may suit you better. Our Apple Passwords vs 1Password vs Bitwarden comparison breaks down the trade-offs.
Wrapping Up
You can now set up a Shared Group, invite family, and keep shared logins synced without texting passwords around. For all-Apple households, it’s an easy win. It’s built into the Passwords app and simple enough that the least techy person in the family can accept an invite. The limits are real, though: one owner, no fine-grained permissions, and (as far as we can tell) one group per item. Plan your groups with that in mind.
| Step | Action | Applies To |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Save family members in Contacts | Owner |
| 2–4 | File > New Shared Group > Add People > Create > Move | Mac |
| 5–7 | Shared Groups > new group > add people > choose items | iPhone/iPad |
| 8 | Shared Groups > Invitations > View > Accept | Members |