The Aggressive Security Lock
For security reasons, macOS is designed to automatically lock your screen after a certain period of inactivity, requiring you to enter your password or use Touch ID to regain access. This prevents unauthorized individuals from snooping on your computer if you step away from your desk. However, this feature can be highly disruptive if you are reading a long document, watching a video that isn’t properly telling the OS to stay awake, or monitoring a dashboard. If you find yourself constantly having to wiggle the mouse or tap the keyboard just to prevent the lock screen from appearing, the default timeout interval is likely too aggressive for your workflow.
Adjusting the Lock Screen Timeout
To stop macOS from automatically locking the screen so quickly when idle, you must adjust the “Require Password” interval located within the Lock Screen settings.
Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner of the menu bar and select System Settings. Scroll down the left-hand sidebar and click on Lock Screen. On the right side, you will see several options relating to screen timeouts. First, look at Turn display off on power adapter when inactive (or “on battery”). If your display turns off, it often triggers the lock. You can extend this time to 30 minutes or 1 hour. Next, and more importantly, look for the setting labeled Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off. By default, this is often set to “Immediately” or “5 minutes.” Click the dropdown menu and change it to a much longer duration, such as 1 hour, 4 hours, or even Never (though “Never” is strongly discouraged for security reasons). By extending this timer, macOS will give you a significantly longer grace period of idle time before it automatically locks you out of your session.