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Safari bug: You now need a different browser for app passwords

Florian Bodoky
22.8.2023
Translation: machine translated

Passwords for individual apps can be set in the security settings of the Apple ID. This prevents your Apple ID password from being saved by third-party providers. However, there is currently a problem with Safari.

If you log in to your Apple ID via the web, you will find a practical function there: "application-specific passwords". This allows you to set a special password for individual apps that you can use to log in. You can use an app-specific password wherever you would otherwise have to log in with your Apple ID. This prevents the app from saving your "real" Apple ID password.

Currently, however, there is a problem: If you log in with Safari and want to set such a password, Apple displays the following message: "Continue on one of your devices". This means without a browser on the iPhone or iPad, for example. You can also open your Apple ID settings there. However, you can only set up the application-specific passwords via the browser. This problem currently exists - and has apparently existed for several weeks - in Safari 16 and the Safari 17 beta.

An embarrassment for Apple: If you log into your Apple ID on your Mac with Firefox or Chrome, the feature works without any problems. Only Safari doesn't work. But if you log in on your iPhone, it doesn't work with other browsers either. The reason for this is the browser engine. Apple's WebKit is always used on the iPhone, regardless of the browser. On the Mac, this is a different engine depending on the browser - for Chrome this is "Chromium", for Firefox "Quantum".

As yet, Apple has not fixed the problem - this may happen when the final version of Safari 17 is rolled out.

Caption image: Shutterstock

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I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue. 

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