Passwords Not Being Hidden/Masked on iPhone: 4 Ways To Fix

Password input fields being hidden as asterisks or bullet points is a security feature that’s nearly as old as computers. So, it’s definitely a shocker when you type a password and see it in plain text. But that’s exactly what has been happening with some people on iOS 18. Here’s why passwords aren’t being masked on your iPhone, and what you can do about it.

Why Aren’t My Passwords Being Hidden in iOS 18?

The issue is caused by a minor bug in iOS 18 related to the Passwords app and strong password suggestions. If you perform specific steps, in a specific order, with specific settings enabled, you’ll see passwords as plain text. However, this only happens in non-critical situations, which I’ll explain below.

Make Sure You’ve Checked More Obvious Aspects

Before that, however, let’s just make sure you’ve discarded some more obvious possibilities. Triple-check if you’re typing the password in a password input field, and that the “show password” option is disabled. For space-saving reasons, this option is frequently displayed as an eye-shaped icon.

Some apps and websites are designed so poorly that the differences between regular text and password input fields aren’t clear. I wouldn’t blame you for confusing one field for the other, in this situation.

Also, make sure you trust the website, because this may indicate a phishing scam. Don’t type passwords on untrusted websites, especially if you reuse passwords in multiple services (which you shouldn’t be doing, anyway).

Fixing Passwords Not Masked on iPhone

Now, the bug we’ll be working around, as I said, happens under limited circumstances. Technically, one of the requirements is that you’re using Safari. However, many apps use a type of “Safari window” inside them for login pages, making the issue appear more frequently.

It also needs specific settings to be enabled, and some steps to be taken in a precise order. Below, we’ll cover both of these situations, so you can choose whether to change your settings or your “workflow”.

1. Turn “Suggest Strong Passwords” Off

2. Disable Password AutoFill

The second step is very similar. Do the following:

1. Go to Settings > Apps > Passwords > View AutoFill Settings.
   
2. Disable the AutoFill Passwords and Passkeys toggle.

3. Disable “AutoFill From” for Passwords

Lastly, another option that, when enabled, may cause the bug, is the “AutoFill From”, also from the Passwords app. Here’s how to disable it:

1. Go to Settings > Apps > Passwords > View AutoFill Settings.
   
2. Under the AutoFill From section, turn the Passwords toggle off.

4. Check Your Password Input “Workflow”

Since the bug requires doing things in a specific order, you may avoid it and keep the aforementioned options enabled. Check below the exact steps that trigger the issue:

1. Open any website into which you’re not logged.
2. Go to the page on that website to create a new account.
3. Enter any random e-mail, username, and other required information, then tap the Password field.
   
4. The Password field will turn yellow, and a Use Strong Password? dialog box will appear. Tap Not Now.
5. Depending on your iOS 18 specific version or iPhone model, the Password may or may not remain with the yellow tint. Tap it again.
   
6. Start typing any random placeholder password. You’ll see it appear as plain text.
7. Tap anywhere else on the screen. The password will turn into asterisks or bullet points, as it should.

NOTE

Using an iPhone 11 Pro and an iPhone 16 XCode emulator, the password became visible whenever I tapped the field. Other users, however, reported the issue only happens when you tap it for the first time after dismissing the dialog box.

The thing is: forcing users to follow a specific order so something as basic as password masking works is absurd. Let’s not forget, though, that Steve Jobs’ initial response to the “antennagate” was telling people to hold their iPhones differently. Apple’s “my way or the highway” approach isn’t likely to change anytime soon.

5. Uninstall the Passwords App

It’s unlikely, but there’s a chance that changing the settings from steps 1-3 just won’t work. In this case, in order to keep filling signup pages like anyone else, you’ll need the nuclear solution. If you don’t keep your credentials in the Passwords app, you can simply uninstall it.

For a long time, iOS blocked people from uninstalling any system apps — to be fair, so did Android. Therefore, a lot of people may not know, to this day, that you can uninstall many built-in iOS apps. Here’s how to do that:

1. Tap and hold the Passwords app icon on the Home Screen.
2. A dialog box displaying some actions will appear with the Delete App at the bottom (or top, depending on the icon’s position).
3. If you keep holding, you’ll enter “edit” mode, which allows you to uninstall apps by tapping the – over their icons.
4. Regardless of the method used, a dialog box will appear warning you’ll lose some features. Tap Delete to confirm.

NOTE

You may be unable to uninstall the Passwords app, depending on your country and iOS version. In this case, you’ll only see a Remove App button, that warns the app will remain in your App Library.

Any list of good security practices includes (and usually starts with) “Don’t tell anyone your passwords.” Hiding these passwords with asterisks or bullet points defends you from people who want to discover them anyway. Not in iPhones, though: favoring your own passwords over ones created by iOS requires giving up masking. Whether this is indeed a bug or another of Apple’s forced “features”, it’s still to be known.