The Archive and the Bin¶
There are two ways to clear an item out of your lists. Archive it if you might want it again: it leaves the lists but stays whole. Delete it if you don't: it waits in the Bin for a number of days, so that a mistake can be put right, and is then deleted for good.
Archiving an item¶
Swipe the item's row to the left and tap Archive. It is done at once.
Or edit the item, turn on Archived, and save.
Edit the item, turn on Archived, and save.
An archived item keeps everything it holds. While it is archived:
- it isn't in your lists, until you ask for the archive (below);
- it isn't offered for filling in: not by AutoFill on the iPhone, nor in the pane under the key on the Mac;
- it isn't sent to your Apple Watch;
- it isn't part of Merging Duplicates.
Finding archived items¶
On Recent or Tags, turn on the Include Archived pill, under the type pills. Archived items are then listed with the rest, each marked ARCHIVED, and search finds them too. The pill is there only while something is archived.
Click the archive button beside the search field. The panel then lists the archived items alone, under Archived, and the search field searches the archive. Click the button again for the items in use.
[Screenshot: Recent with Include Archived on and an archived item]
Bringing an item out of the archive¶
With Include Archived on, swipe the item's row to the left and tap Unarchive. Or edit the item, turn Archived off, and save.
Show the archive, open the item, edit it, turn Archived off, and save.
Deleting an item¶
Swipe the item's row to the left and tap Delete. Or edit the item and tap Delete… at the foot of the editor.
Edit the item and click Delete….
Either way, Private Passwords asks first, "Delete “name”?", and says how long the item will stay in the Bin. Then it asks for Face ID or Touch ID. A delete from the editor saves nothing you changed there.
The item goes to the Bin for the Days in the Bin, 30 unless you change it (below), and is then deleted for good.
The Bin¶
The Bin lists what was deleted and is not yet gone. Open it from the Info page: Bin on the iPhone, View Bin… on the Mac, where Bin is in the menu too.
Each row shows the item, its type and template, the day it was deleted and the days it has left, such as "27 days left". In the last tenth of its days, the row warns that it is about to go, such as "Deleted for good in 2 days". Sort the rows by Latest deleted, Earliest deleted, A to Z or Z to A.
[Screenshot: the Bin with three items, one about to go]
Bringing an item back¶
Swipe the row to the left and tap Restore. Or tap the row for all its choices: Restore, Archive or Unarchive, and Delete Now….
Click the row's Actions button and choose Restore, Archive or Unarchive, or Delete Now….
Restore brings the item back as it was: an item that was archived goes back to the archive. Archive and Unarchive, offered where archiving is allowed, choose whether it comes back into the archive or among your items in use.
Deleting one item for good¶
Choose Delete Now… on its row. Private Passwords asks, "Delete “name” for good now?", warns that it cannot be brought back, and then asks for Face ID or Touch ID before Delete for Good is done.
Empty the Bin¶
Empty the Bin stands at the top of the Bin while it holds anything. It deletes everything in the Bin for good, at once: "All 12 items in the Bin are deleted for good, on every device. They cannot be brought back." It asks for Face ID or Touch ID every time.
An import made with Delete all existing puts the items that were here in the Bin. Once any of them is deleted for good, by Delete Now…, by Empty the Bin or by its days running out, that import can no longer be undone with Undo Last Import, on any device. See Undoing the Last Import.
Days in the Bin, and the other settings¶
Three settings decide how the archive and the Bin work. They are the same on every device your items sync to.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Allow Archiving | Off, nothing can be archived. It can be changed only while nothing is archived. |
| Allow Deleting | Off, no item can be deleted. |
| Days in the Bin | How long a deleted item stays in the Bin, from 0 to 999 days. 30 until you change it. |
0 days means no Bin. A deleted item is then deleted for good at once, and the editor's button reads Delete for Good…. Anything already in the Bin is deleted for good shortly afterwards, unless you restore it first.
The three are under Archive and Bin in Settings. See The Settings Page.
Allow Archiving is under Archiving in Settings; Allow Deleting and Days in the Bin are under Deleting. See The Settings Page.
What asks for Face ID or Touch ID¶
| What you do | Asks for Face ID or Touch ID |
|---|---|
| Archive or unarchive | Nothing of its own |
| Delete an item | Yes |
| Restore, archive or unarchive in the Bin | No |
| Delete Now… | Yes |
| Empty the Bin | Yes, every time |
Face ID asks each time. With Touch ID, or the iPhone's passcode where neither can be used, nothing asks again during the Unlock Period, except Empty the Bin, which always asks. See Face ID, Touch ID and the Unlock Period.
Touch ID asks, or your Mac's password where Touch ID can't be used. Nothing asks again during the Unlock Period, except Empty the Bin, which always asks. See Touch ID, Your Password and the Unlock Period.
Continue to Credential Health.