How to Turn Off Touch ID on Your Mac

  Matt Cone       January 27, 2022      Tutorials Mac Security


Newer MacBooks and Apple keyboards have a button in the top-right corner referred to as Touch ID. This feature allows you to use your fingerprint for authentication. Instead of typing a password to log in, you can press your finger on Touch ID to verify your identity.

Apple Touch ID icon

Some people don’t want to use Touch ID on their Mac. If you’d prefer to use a password to authenticate, follow the steps in this tutorial to disable Touch ID on your Mac. Here’s how to turn off Touch ID on your Mac:

  1. From the Apple menu, select System Preferences.

  2. Click Touch ID, as shown below.

    Touch ID settings on Mac

  3. Deselect all of the checkboxes to disable Touch ID on your Mac, as shown below.

    Disabling Touch ID on a Mac

You’ve successfully disabled Touch ID on your Mac. Now, you’ll need to enter your password for authentication on your Mac. If you ever want to enable Touch ID again, simply select the checkboxes on the Touch ID settings page.

Subscribe to our email newsletter

Sign up and get Macinstruct's tutorials delivered to your inbox. No spam, promise!


About    Privacy Policy    Terms and Conditions

© 2023. A Matt Cone project. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Made with 🌶️ in New Mexico.