As we age—gracefully, of course—there’s one thing we rarely talk about but absolutely should: how the people we love will access our digital and financial lives if something happens to us. It’s not just about big stuff like retirement accounts or cryptocurrency. It’s about the small, sentimental things too—your cloud of family photos, that 90s alt-rock playlist you swore you’d clean up, or your lifetime collection of digitally purchased movies.

And let’s not forget the never-ending list of subscriptions you’ve accumulated: streaming services, magazine apps, your backup service, password manager, tax software, and the tool you used once in 2021 but still pay $4.99/month for.

We don’t want to leave our spouses or kids locked out of our digital lives, stuck clicking “Forgot Password” into eternity or trying to guess which of our five Gmail addresses has the family vacation photos from 2015.

Enter: Apple’s Passwords App + Family Sharing

If you’re already part of the Apple ecosystem, you’ve got an elegant solution hiding in plain sight: the new Passwords app, combined with iCloud Family Sharing.

Here’s the good news: with iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, Apple quietly turned their built-in password manager into a full-fledged app. No third-party services needed. It stores your login credentials, Wi-Fi passwords, passkeys, and 2FA codes. But more importantly—it now supports password sharing within families.

So how do you set it up? Here’s the easy, no-fuss process:

1. Set up iCloud Family Sharing

If you haven’t done this already, go to:

Settings → Your Name → Family Sharing

From there, you can invite your spouse and kids (they’ll need Apple IDs).

This connects you all under a digital family umbrella. You’ll also get access to shared iCloud storage, purchase sharing, and location sharing, but we’re here for the passwords.

2. Open the Passwords App

On your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, open the Passwords app (formerly hidden in Settings). If it’s your first time, you’ll be prompted to set it up with FaceID or TouchID. Go ahead—it’s your new digital vault.

3. Create a Shared Group

Tap on the “+” icon → New Shared Group

Name it something obvious like “Family Access” or “Digital Keys”

Add your family members (who are in your iCloud Family).

4. Add Key Accounts to Share

Now select which credentials you want to share:

Bank logins
Streaming services
Cloud photo backups
Crypto wallets
Airline miles (yes, even those)

You’re in control—you don’t have to share everything, just the stuff you’d want them to be able to access easily in case of emergency or transition.

5. Test It Together

Ask your spouse or kid to log in to one of the shared services using their device. Make sure everything works. That way, there are no surprises later.

Think of this like making a digital “Go Bag” for your loved ones. No more scribbled passwords taped under the desk. No awkward PDF labeled “Important Info” floating around your inbox. Just a clean, secure, built-in way to keep your family connected—and protected—when it matters most.

Try it out this weekend. It’ll take 15 minutes, tops. Your future self (and your family) will thank you.

Tim Cook made a fanastic stand on user privacy and encryption in a speech to EPIC's Champions of Freedom gathering in Washington DC on June 1, 2015.

Matthew Panzarino has a breakdown of the speech and some hard commentary at TechCrunch:

Cook then laid out an Abraham Lincoln quote (which I vetted, it’s true): “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. We shouldn’t ask our customers to make a tradeoff between privacy and security. We need to offer them the best of both,” Cook wrapped up. “Ultimately, protecting someone else’s data protects all of us.”

Emphasis is mine. That is the boldest stance yet that Tim Cook has taken and a direct attack on Google, especially in the light of recent Google I/O announcements.

So if you don't know what you are buying or if you are getting something for free, then YOU are the product. I hope people will realize this soon enough. Its not that I am a blind Apple follower, but I know for sure that Apple won't sell my data or spy on my content.

After all, there is something to be said about Apple's mantra being 'Building the best product for our users' and Google's refrain of 'Don't be evil'.

Whom would you trust ?