Bitwarden vs Apple Passwords: privacy compared
Bitwarden and Apple Passwords are both rated in password managers against the same 12 public criteria. Bitwarden does better on open source, independent audit, local or self-hosted option and full export. Apple Passwords does better on no trackers or telemetry, transparency report and tells users about requests. Bitwarden is based in the United States (Five Eyes); Apple Passwords is based in the United States (Five Eyes).
| Criterion | Bitwarden Our pick | Apple Passwords |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | Grade C C (73/100) | Grade C C (64/100) |
| Jurisdiction | United States Five Eyes | United States Five Eyes |
| Open source Is all the source code needed to run the product public? | Yes source | No |
| No trackers or telemetry Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default? | No source | Partial source |
| No ads or data sales Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Independent audit Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years? | Yes source | No |
| Transparency report Does the provider regularly publish how many government and legal requests it receives and how it responds? | No | Yes source |
| Tells users about requests Does the provider promise to tell users about requests for their data, unless a court forbids it? | No | Yes source |
| TLS configuration Does the website pass the Qualys SSL Labs test with a grade of A or better? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Security headers Does the website pass the Mozilla HTTP Observatory test with a grade of A or better? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Modern web standards Does the website score 90% or higher on the Internet.nl website test? | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| End-to-end encrypted vault Is the vault encrypted on the device before it is synced, with a key the provider does not hold? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Local or self-hosted option Can the vault be kept locally or on your own server? | Yes source | Partial source |
| Full export Can every item be exported in an open format? | Yes source | Partial source |
Summaries
Bitwarden. Bitwarden scores 73 out of 100 (grade C) on the password managers criteria. It meets 8 of 11 criteria: open source, no ads or data sales, independent audit, TLS configuration, security headers, end-to-end encrypted vault, local or self-hosted option and full export. It does not meet no trackers or telemetry, transparency report and tells users about requests. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act. Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A+ and Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade A+.
Apple Passwords. Apple Passwords scores 64 out of 100 (grade C) on the password managers criteria. It meets 6 of 11 criteria: no ads or data sales, transparency report, tells users about requests, TLS configuration, security headers and end-to-end encrypted vault. It partly meets no trackers or telemetry, local or self-hosted option and full export. It does not meet open source and independent audit. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act. Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A+ and Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade A+.