Export Microsoft Authenticator Passwords Before They Are Deleted
If you use Microsoft Authenticator as your password manager, you’ll need to find an alternative in the next few weeks. Microsoft is stopping password storage and autofill in its Authenticator app, and users have until July to export their saved data before it’s no longer accessible. This comes as Microsoft moves to a “no default password” approach for its accounts.
Microsoft Authenticator is a mobile app that supports secure sign-in using a variety of multifactor authentication methods, such as one-time passwords with limited expiration times and biometrics, although users can also set it up as a password manager .
What’s Happening with Microsoft Authenticator
As reported by Bleeping Computer , Authenticator’s autofill feature has been deprecated, and Microsoft is now notifying users of an upcoming deadline to either switch to Microsoft Edge or another password storage option. Starting in June, users will no longer be able to save passwords in Authenticator. Microsoft will disable autofill in July, and saved passwords and saved payment information will no longer be available in the app in August.
The authenticator will continue to support passwords.
According to a Microsoft support page detailing the change, saved passwords are synced with your Microsoft account and can be autofilled using Microsoft Edge, so users who have Edge enabled as an autofill provider on mobile devices will have easy access to their data.
To do this, you’ll need to download the Microsoft Edge browser to your device, then set it as your default autofill option ( Settings > General > Autofill & Passwords > Autofill from > Edge on iOS or Settings > Autofill > Preferred Service > Change > Edge on Android). You can access passwords when you’re signed into Edge by tapping the three vertical lines to open Settings > Passwords .
How to Export Passwords from Authenticator
If you don’t want to continue using Edge, you can export your data and move it to a secure third-party password manager , like Bitwarden or 1Password. Open Authenticator and go to Settings > Export passwords (under Autofill ) and select Export . Choose a folder and click Save . This will create a CSV for uploading to another password management tool. Note that your data is no longer encrypted in this format, and you should delete the export file once you’ve uploaded it elsewhere.
You can also copy and paste addresses by tapping and holding them, but you can’t copy or export saved payment information—you’ll have to create that manually for security reasons.
Microsoft doesn’t provide exact dates for each phase of deprecation, so it’s best to export your passwords as soon as possible, and certainly no later than July 1.