Question :

I need to generate a random password for a new online account for an app, but for some reason, macOS doesn’t suggest a Strong Password as usual…

How can I easily generate a random strong password ?

Answer :

When using Safari on macOS, Safari will automatically suggest a Safari Strong Password (and backs it up to iCloud) whenever a field where you need to manually type a new password…

However : this feature is Safari-only (as the name Safari Strong Password suggests), so if you need to manually type a new password into an app (or anything outside of Safari) this automatic suggestion won’t kick into play…

Luckily, macOS has a Password Generator built-in… only tricky thing is it’s a little hard to access… there are 2 ways to get the Password Generator to start up (and an alternative in case you need extra features) :

– Option 1 –

• Apple Menu > System Prefs > Users & Groups > Change Password > Key Icon 
• now Password Assistant opens in a separate window
• Close previous window (that is now in the background) by clicking Cancel-button
• Back to Password Generator window
• set type of password you need
• Generate password
• Copy password
• Close Password Generator window

– Option 2 –

• User’s Home Folder > Applications > Utilities > KeychainAccess.app
• now the Keychain window opens
• click on the Plus-sign button ( or press the CMD + N key combo on your keyboard )
• now a pulldown window opens
• at “Password”, on the right, click the ‘black key’-button
• now Password Assistant opens in a separate window
• note : leave the Keychain Access window in the background, as trying to close it will also close the Password Assistant window
• in the Password Assistant window, set the type of password you need
• then, generate the new password
• copy the password
• switch to the window where you need to paste the new password
• then, switch back to the Keychain Access window and close it

 – Alternative option –

If macOS’ built-in Password Generator doesn’t allow you to get a random password that suits your needs, for example if you need a memorable password, you can get the StrongPassword.app for FREE from the Mac AppStore.

StrongPassword.app has 3 main options of automatic password generation :

• “Basic”
• “Advanced”
• “Words”
• note : all 3 come with the option of adding or omitting symbols like  ! ? @ & * _ + =
• The “Words” option comes closest to the (now obsolete) “Memorable” option that used to be built-in in macOSX and OSX

that’s it !

enjoy 😉