Your Mac’s password is used for many different purposes. In addition to allowing you to log in to your user account, it allows you to unlock the screen when it has automatically locked. It also allows you to enable privileges for apps detailed in the Privacy & Security pane of System Settings.

You can’t disable the password completely. However, you can set your Mac up so that you don’t need to type in the password every time you unlock the screen. Here’s how to turn off the password on your Mac.

How to remove the login password on your Mac

The login password is useful if multiple people use your Mac or you use your MacBook in a public setting. However, if you have a desktop Mac and are the only person who uses it, you don’t really need it.

System Preferences - Users & Groups
  1. Click on the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
  2. Select Users & Groups.
  3. Click on the drop-down menu next to “Automatically login” and choose your user account.
  4. Type in your password and click OK.
  5. Quit System Settings.
Tip

Some changes in the Privacy & Security section of System Settings require you to type in your password to use them. If you don’t want to do that every time, the Privacy tool in CleanMyMac can make changes to application permissions. For example, you can control whether an application has access to your Documents folder, camera, or screen recording.

CleanMyMac - Application permissions
  • Download, install, and open CleanMyMac. 
  • Choose Protection and click Scan > Manage Privacy Items. 
  • Choose Application Permissions and check different kinds of permissions. 
  • Select the checkbox next to the app you no longer want to have certain permissions and click Revoke.

How to disable the sleep password on your Mac

The other instance when you need to type in your password to access your Mac is when you wake it from sleep or need to unlock the screen after the screensaver has started.

System Preferences - Lock Screen
  1. Open System Setting.
  2. Select the Lock Screen pane.
  3. Click the pop-up menu next to the next “Require password” and set the time that passes before you have to enter your password.

How to use your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac

An alternative to disabling the password altogether is to use your Apple Watch — if you have one — to unlock your Mac. You will still have to type in your password the first time you start up your Mac after shutting it down (unless you have it set to log in automatically, as we showed you above). However, you won’t need your password to wake it from sleep; it will unlock automatically when it detects your Watch is close and you’re wearing it.

  1. Open System Settings and choose Privacy & Security.
  2. In the section on the right, enable the unlock option for your Apple Watch.

How to change your password on your Mac

Changing your password is not the same as disabling or removing it, of course. But if you change it to nothing, i.e., you leave the box where you would normally type a new password blank, on some Macs and some versions of macOS, this will allow you to log in or wake your Mac by just pressing Return.

  1. Open System Settings.
  2. Choose Users & Groups.
  3. Click the i icon next to your user account.
  4. Click Change Password.
  5. Type in your old password and leave the New Password and Verify boxes empty.
  6. Click Change Password to confirm.

By following the steps above, you can disable the password on your Mac when you log in or when you wake it from sleep. If you disable it when you log in, your Mac will log in automatically to the account you choose. You will still have to use a password to log into another account using fast-user switching or when you log out. If you don’t want to use a password when you make changes to application permissions in System Settings, CleanMyMac can disable permissions in its Privacy tool.