The Prompting Keychain
macOS comes with a built-in password manager called iCloud Keychain. Whenever you log into a new website in Safari or authenticate within a desktop application, macOS will automatically display a drop-down prompt asking if you want to save that password. While this is highly convenient for personal computers, it can be a significant security risk on shared machines, public kiosks, or work laptops. If you prefer to rely your memory, a physical notebook, or a dedicated third-party password manager (like 1Password or Bitwarden), the constant prompts from Apple’s native Keychain system are both redundant and annoying.
Disabling Safari and System Auto-Fill
To stop macOS from automatically asking to save your passwords, you need to disable the AutoFill features within Safari and the system-wide password settings.
First, open Safari. In the top menu bar, click on Safari and select Settings. Navigate to the AutoFill tab. Uncheck the boxes next to User names and passwords and Credit cards. This stops the browser prompts. Next, you must disable the system-level iCloud Keychain prompts. Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner and select System Settings. Scroll down the left sidebar and click on Passwords (you will need to authenticate with Touch ID or your Mac user password). Look for a setting labeled AutoFill Passwords (or similar, depending on your macOS version). Toggle this switch to the Off position. Finally, if you want to completely sever the connection, go to System Settings > [Your Apple ID Name] > iCloud, click on Passwords and Keychain, and turn off “Sync this Mac.” macOS will no longer offer to save or fill your credentials.