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iPhone & Mac guide

IvyKey for iPhone and Mac — User Guide

Applies to: Apple 1.0 test build (iPhone; Mac with Apple silicon). Last updated: 2026-11-02. IvyKey has not yet been independently audited. During testing, do not keep your only copy of real passwords here.

IvyKey follows your system language: Chinese (simplified or traditional) shows the Chinese interface, any other language shows English. To use a different language just for IvyKey, on iPhone go to Settings › Apps › IvyKey › Language; on a Mac, System Settings › General › Language & Region › Applications.

1. Read these first

  1. There is no password recovery service. If you forget your master password and lose your recovery key, the data is gone for good — nobody, including the developers, can help.
  2. Deleting the app deletes the vault. Removing IvyKey from your iPhone (including the system's "Offload Unused Apps") deletes the vault with it. On a Mac, cleaner tools that delete IvyKey's data do the same. Export backups regularly to a computer or USB drive.
  3. IvyKey never goes online. No account, no cloud; the vault is excluded from iCloud, from computer backups of your iPhone and from Time Machine. You sync and back up by copying files yourself.

2. Getting started

Starting fresh: tap "Create a new vault" → choose a master password (we recommend "Generate passphrase" and writing it on paper) → save the recovery kit (write it down or print it, then type back two of its groups) → export your first backup.

You already have a vault on another device:

  1. In IvyKey on that device, choose "Export sync copy";
  2. Copy the file to this device: AirDrop, a cable (drag it onto IvyKey or the Files app in Finder on a Mac, or in the Apple Devices app on Windows), or a USB drive (the Files app supports them);
  3. On the welcome page tap "Start from a sync copy made on your computer", pick the file and enter that vault's master password.

3. Recovery kit

The recovery kit is one sheet of paper holding only the recovery key (7 groups of characters) and instructions — never a password. If you forget your master password, it opens the vault and lets you set a new one.

  • The recovery key is shown only once. Write it down, or tap "Print recovery kit…".
  • Print to a directly connected printer (an AirPrint printer from iPhone; a USB or local-network printer from a Mac). Do not choose "Save as PDF", share it to another app or use cloud printing — the key would be left behind as a file. Print queues may also hold the content temporarily.
  • After writing or printing it, type back the two groups you are asked for.
  • Keep the kit where only you (or family you trust) can reach it, separately from your backup drive, and do not photograph it.

4. Everyday use

  • New entry: "＋" above the entry list (⌘N on a Mac), then pick a type: login, bank card, ID document, API key, server, Wi-Fi, software licence or secure note. Each type comes with the usual fields.
  • Browse: the sidebar lists all entries, favourites, folders, tags and the trash. On iPhone, tap back at the top left to reach the sidebar.
  • Show a password: tap the eye in the detail view. If more than 5 minutes have passed since you last confirmed, you are asked for the master password first. Passwords hide again after 30 seconds by default. "Large display" (the large-letters button) enlarges and numbers each character, handy for typing on a TV.
  • Copy: copied passwords are cleared from the clipboard after 30 seconds by default. On iPhone, copies stay on the device and are not sent to your Mac or iPad via Universal Clipboard; on a Mac they also stay on that Mac (not sent to your iPhone via Universal Clipboard) and are marked "concealed", which clipboard managers usually skip. Copying a username or URL is not restricted.
  • Lock: the lock in the toolbar; on a Mac also Vault › Lock in the menu bar, or ⌘L.
  • Mac menu bar: Settings is under IvyKey › Settings… (⌘,); Sync and backup and Password health check are in the Vault menu; the user guide is in the Help menu. When the window is narrow, a » button appears at the right of the toolbar with the lock and tools buttons inside.
  • Generate a password: "Generate" while editing an entry — random characters or a passphrase.

5. Auto-lock

  • iPhone screen locks: IvyKey locks immediately. Mac screen lock, sleep, display sleep or user switch: locks immediately.
  • Switched to another app: locks after 30 seconds by default (can be set to immediately).
  • No activity inside IvyKey: locks after 5 minutes by default.

Locking wipes the keys from memory and clears any revealed text. Making any of these settings looser requires the master password.

5a. Face ID / Touch ID / PIN quick unlock

Turn it on under Tools › Settings › "Quick unlock"; you need to enter the master password once. Off by default.

  • Face ID / Touch ID: verified once right away when you turn it on. The key is locked in the device's Secure Enclave; IvyKey never sees your face or fingerprint.
  • PIN: a 6–12 digit code used only for IvyKey. Do not reuse your passcode or a bank PIN, and avoid birthdays, 123456, 123123 and the like (IvyKey rejects them). After 5 wrong PINs in a row PIN unlock turns itself off and the master password is required.
  • Only one of the two can be on; turning one on turns the other off.
  • After a restart, or when more than 24 hours have passed since you last entered the master password (adjustable from 1 to 72 hours), the master password is required — so nobody can unlock it while you sleep or by forcing you.
  • Adding or removing a face or fingerprint in the system turns Face ID / Touch ID unlock off; enter the master password and turn it on again.
  • Changing the master password, rotating the vault key, replace import and recovery-key unlock also turn quick unlock off.
  • The device must have a passcode; if you remove it, the system deletes the quick-unlock keys.
  • When IvyKey asks you to confirm (e.g. to show a password), Face ID / PIN also work; turning on quick unlock and exporting plain CSV always need the master password.

5b. AutoFill (iPhone, Mac)

Turn it on: Settings › General › AutoFill & Passwords, and under "AutoFill From" turn on "IvyKey" (shown as "常春钥" when the system language is Chinese). On a Mac: System Settings › General › AutoFill & Passwords (on older systems, Passwords › Password Options).

Use it: tap a login field in Safari or another app; above the keyboard tap "AutoFill Password" → choose "IvyKey" → unlock with Face ID / PIN / master password → tap the entry. IvyKey never fills anything you didn't pick.

On a Mac: click a login field in Safari, click the key icon at the right of the field → choose "IvyKey…" → unlock with your master password (or Touch ID) → click the entry. Click "Cancel" or press Esc to stop. The Mac AutoFill panel is drawn by the system inside Safari's window, so screen recording or screen sharing can see the entry names and usernames on it (passwords are never shown there); don't open it while recording or sharing your screen.

  • Matching: by main domain. An entry for www.google.com is listed on accounts.google.com; look-alikes such as google.com.evil.cn are not.
  • Mismatch warning: picking an entry from "Other entries" whose website doesn't match shows a phishing warning. Continue only if you are sure it is the same site.
  • Other apps: the system only tells IvyKey the website an app is associated with; for apps without one, pick the entry under "Other entries".
  • IvyKey does not hand your account list to the system (so account names don't appear directly above the keyboard); while your phone or IvyKey is locked, the system doesn't know which sites you have accounts for.
  • iOS doesn't let third-party password managers offer to "save a new password" after you sign in; add new accounts in IvyKey yourself.

6. Syncing with other devices and backups

Tools (the "…" button above the list) › "Sync and backup":

  • Export sync copy: choose a location in the system file panel (e.g. "On My iPhone" in Files, or a USB drive). The copy is read back and verified. Copy it to the other device and use "Merge import…" there.
  • Merge import: pick a copy exported by another device → review the preview (added, updated, deleted, conflicts) → confirm. A history version is saved first, so "History" can undo it. When both sides changed the same entry, you choose which to keep, or keep both.
  • Replace import: replace this device's vault entirely with another vault file (e.g. after "rotate vault key" on another device). The old data is backed up inside the app first.
  • Verify backup: checks that a backup opens completely, without changing anything.

If you have not backed up for 30 days, a reminder stays at the top of the entry list.

7. Moving from or to other password managers

Tools › Sync and backup › "Other password managers":

  • Import: KeePass / KeePassXC .kdbx (enter that file's password), Bitwarden .json (unencrypted) or .csv, and .csv exported from Chrome, Firefox, Apple Passwords and others. You see a preview first (likely duplicates are skipped by default); a history version is saved before importing. Delete the source file afterwards — it usually holds passwords in plain text.
  • Export as KeePass (encrypted): choose a separate export password; any password manager can import it.
  • Export as plain CSV: not encrypted, asks for the master password every time; delete it straight after use.

8. Password health check

Tools › "Password health check": lists weak passwords, passwords shared by several entries, passwords not changed for a long time, and expired or soon-to-expire ones. Tap one to open that entry.

9. Forgot your master password

On the unlock page tap "Forgot master password? Use recovery key", enter the recovery key (case, spaces and dashes don't matter) and set a new master password. A new recovery key is generated; write it down or print it again — the old sheet no longer works.

10. Settings

Tools › "Settings":

  • auto-lock times, clipboard clearing time, how long revealed passwords stay visible;
  • "Hide login notes by default" (off by default; turning it off requires confirming your identity);
  • change master password, regenerate recovery kit, rotate vault key (use this if you suspect your master password or an old backup leaked; a backup is made first);
  • security status: whether the device has a passcode, and whether keys in memory are locked (never swapped to disk); on a Mac it also reminds you to turn on FileVault (full-disk encryption), with a button that opens System Settings.

11. Security reminders

  • iPhone: IvyKey's content is covered during screen recording and screen mirroring, and the app switcher shows only the IvyKey logo. iOS does not let apps block single screenshots, so avoid taking one while a password is shown; if you do, IvyKey reminds you to delete it from Photos (with iCloud Photos on, it may already have been uploaded).
  • Mac: screenshots, screen recording and screen sharing cannot see IvyKey's windows.
  • Set a passcode on your iPhone and keep the system updated. If the system itself is compromised, any app's protection can be bypassed.
  • For AutoFill see section 5b.

12. Before deleting IvyKey

  1. Export a sync copy or backup to another device or a USB drive;
  2. Verify it with "Verify a backup…" in IvyKey on the other device;
  3. Then delete. After reinstalling, choose "Start from a sync copy" to restore.