[citation needed] It was not until the return of Steve Jobs in 1997 that Keychain concept was revived from the now-discontinued PowerTalk.

By this point in time the concept was no longer so unusual, but it was still rare to see a keychain system that was not associated with a particular piece of application software, typically a web browser.

Overwriting the file in ~/Library/Keychains/ with a new one (e.g. as part of a restore operation) also causes the keychain to lock and a password is required at next access.

Some network administrators react to this by deleting the keychain file on logout, so that a new one will be created next time the user logs in.

The iOS version is simpler because applications that run on mobile devices typically need only very basic Keychain features.

As Mac users’ default storage for sensitive information, Keychain is a prime target for security attacks.

In 2019, 18-year-old German security researcher Linus Henze demonstrated his hack, dubbed KeySteal, that grabs passwords from the Keychain.

Initially, he withheld details of the hack, demanding Apple set up a bug bounty for macOS.