Apple Passwords - Security

[pine man]

I don’t tend to use Apple Passwords much, relying more on a my own password manager, but I have just been looking at it to resolve a password issue. While doing so I noticed that in the sidebar there is an item entitled Wi-Fi and it shows a count of 15 on my iMac. When opened it displays a list of 15 Wi-Fi signals in and around my property. Each one listed has its name and the Password hidden as a row of dots, as you would expect. However if I hover my cursor over the hidden passwords they are all displayed!

Am I reading too much into this? Is this what Apple intends as it appears to me that I, or anyone with Apple Passwords installed can gain access to any, nearby, private Wi-Fi signals?

 

[ferrarr]

Those are not local networks to you, they are "known" networks that you have accessed with all your Apple devices and the passwords for those networks. Your device saves them, in case you return and need/want to access the network.
The only place to see current networks available to you is in the Wi-Fi Settings.

 

[pine man]

they are "known" networks that you have accessed with all your Apple devices and the passwords for those networks

Now that makes sense and when I look again I recognise some of them.

Thank you!

 

[RadDave]

Those are not local networks to you, they are "known" networks that you have accessed with all your Apple devices and the passwords for those networks. Your device saves them, in case you return and need/want to access the network.
The only place to see current networks available to you is in the Wi-Fi Settings.

Agree w/ Bob completely - just for some visuals - in Passwords on my iPad, I have 83 items under the 'Wi-Fi' category (first pic) - now my router is at the top (not shown) but virtually all are places we've stayed so if we returned, Wi-Fi will be immediately available - the second pic is Wi-Fi Explorer on my laptop which shows all of the 'active' networks detectable in my vicinity (including my own, names blotted out) - there are over 40 sites scrolling down but none outside my house appear on the Passwords list shown - and of course keep in mind that Passwords is protected (Face ID on my iPad & Fingerprint ID on my laptop). Dave

 

[pine man]

but none outside my house appear on the Passwords list shown

That's where it all started going wrong for me - there was one very specific site which contained the name of a new email provider that I knew one of my neighbours had just been signed up to and that appeared on both Passwords and my iPhone so I put 2 and 2 together and got 15. I now, of course, remember that one of my daughters uses the same company and I have her password on my iPhone - doh!!