Delete All Your Keychain Passwords in macOS.How to remove all keychain passwords in macOS.
Apple Keychain does an amazing job of securing the login information for websites, apps, and wireless networks on your Mac. It even lets you automatically fill in passwords on Apple devices by syncing your data via iCloud.
But as you continue to use your Mac, you may run into instances that require you to remove passwords from your default login chain. You may even have to reset your keychain and start over in some cases.
When You Would Want to Delete Your Keychain Passwords in macOS
Before you get started, it’s a good idea to review certain scenarios that require you to remove some or all passwords from your Mac login keychain.
Are you having trouble saving or autofilling your passwords
You keep running into keychain issues when saving or autofilling passwords. Finding and removing offensive login entries can help. But if the problem persists, you should probably reset your keychain to default.
You want to give your Mac to someone else
You want to give your Mac to someone else for an extended period. If creating a separate user account is out of the question, deleting your passwords will help maintain your privacy and block access to websites and apps.
Note. Do you want to sell your Mac? Instead, you should factory reset your macOS device.
You forgot your login keychain password
By default, your login keychain uses your Mac’s administrator password to encrypt its content. So if you forget and reset your Mac account with a new password, you won’t be able to access or use your current keychain to sign in unless you remember your old password. Resetting your keychain completely is the only way to start saving passwords again.
You’ve switched to a different password manager
Despite the convenience of integrating Keychain into your Mac, you may prefer an alternative cross-platform password management utility such as 1Password, LastPass, or Dashlane. After switching, reset your login keychain if you don’t like storing passwords in multiple places.
Optional: Disable iCloud Keychain
If you’ve set up Keychain Access to sync your passwords with iCloud, you can turn off iCloud Keychain Access before you begin. Otherwise, deleting your passwords on macOS will also automatically delete them from your other Apple devices.
1. Open the System Preferences app. If you can’t find it in the Dock, open the Apple menu and choose System Preferences.
2. Select your Apple ID.
3. Select iCloud from the sidebar. Then uncheck “Keychain Access”.
Delete Website Passwords Using Safari Passwords Manager
If you only want to remove website passwords, the most convenient way to do this is to use Safari’s built-in password manager. You can also use it to export your passwords to a CSV file (ideal if you want to back up your passwords or import them into another password manager).
1. Open Safari and choose Safari > Preferences from the menu bar.
2. Go to the “Passwords” tab.
Advice. Another way to access the password manager in Safari is to select the Passwords category in the System Preferences app.
3. Enter your Mac user account password in the password field or log in with Touch ID.
4. Select the “More” icon (three dots) in the lower left corner of the window and select “Export Passwords”.
5. Select a location on your Mac to export your passwords to a CSV file and click Save.
6. Now you can remove your passwords:
Remove individual passwords. Highlight the password you want to remove and click the Remove (-) icon. If you have many passwords, use the search bar at the top of the sidebar to search for login entries by username or website.
Delete multiple passwords: Hold down the Command key to select multiple login entries in the sidebar. Then select Delete to delete them at the same time.
Remove all passwords. If you want to remove all saved website passwords, press Command + A to select the entire sidebar. Then press the Delete key and select Delete passwords as confirmation.
Note. You can recover deleted passwords from a CSV file at any time by choosing More > Import Passwords in the Safari Password Manager.
Delete Any Saved Password Using Keychain Access
If you want to remove passwords for websites, apps, Wi-Fi networks, and encrypted disk images from your login keychain, you must use the built-in Keychain Access app in macOS. If you haven’t set up Time Machine on your Mac yet, we recommend that you create a manual keychain backup before proceeding.
Note. If you want to remove all passwords on your Mac, your best bet is to reset the Login Keychain. Continue to the next section for instructions.
Back up your login keychain
1. Control-click or right-click the Finder icon and select Go to Folder.
2. Enter the following folder path and press Enter:
~/Library/Keychains
3. Make a copy of the login.keychain-db file elsewhere on your Mac.
Delete passwords in login keychain
1. Open Keychain Access via Launchpad > Other > Keychain Access. Or, open the Applications folder with the Finder and double-click Keychain Access in the Utilities folder.
2. Select a keychain to enter the Default Keychains section in the sidebar. It consists of two categories: input and local elements.
Login: contains entries that cannot be synced via iCloud.
Local Items: Contains entries that can be synced through iCloud. If your keychain is actively syncing through iCloud, you’ll see the iCloud category in your keychain access sidebar.
3. Now you can start deleting your passwords:
Remove individual passwords. Control-click the password you want to remove and select Remove Item. Use the search bar at the top right of the window to search for login entries by username, web address, network name, and more.
Delete multiple passwords: Hold down the Command key and select the login entries you want to delete. Then Control-click any of the selected items and choose Delete X Items.
4. Select Delete to confirm.
Reset My Default Keychain Using Keychain Access
If you want to remove all passwords for websites, apps, and Wi-Fi networks, the Mac Keychain Access app gives you the option to reset the default login keychain. This is ideal if you’ve forgotten their password (for example, after resetting your admin password) or if you want to fix problems with a broken keychain.
Resetting your Login Keychain automatically backs up your existing data, which you can add to your Keychain later (for example, if you remember its password) if you like.
Note. Keychain First Aid is no longer available in Mac OS X 10.11 and later.
1. Open the Keychain Access app and select Keychain Access > Settings from the menu bar.
2. Select Restore Default Keychains.
3. Select “Use Password” from the “Keychain Access” pop-up window to confirm the action using your Mac’s administrator password. Or use Touch ID.
4. Enter your Mac administrator password again to encrypt your new login keychain and click OK.
5. Click OK to complete the reset process.
6. Open the “Edit” menu and select “Change Keychain Password” if you want to use a different password for your Keychain Login. Or choose Keychain Access > Exit Keychain Access.
Note. If you want to add the contents of the old login keychain, choose File > Import Keychain from the Keychain menu bar. You will find the automatic database backup in the ~/Library/Keychains directory.
Delete Custom Keychain From Keychain Access
If you use a custom keychain on your Mac, you can delete any item inside it, just like the login keychain. You also have the option to completely remove the keychain itself.
1. Select a keychain in the Custom Keychains section of the Keychain Access app.
2. Choose File > Delete Keychain from the menu bar.
3. Select the Delete Link or Delete Keychain File option.
Remove Link: Removes only the link to the user’s keychain in Keychain Access. You can always re-add a keychain by choosing File > Add Keychain from the menu bar.
Delete keychain file: Deletes the keychain database file. If you don’t have Time Machine set up on your Mac, you can back up the file to a different location before choosing this option. You can find it in the ~/Library/Keychains directory.
Wrapping Up
As you just saw, you have several approaches to deleting passwords in Keychain Access. Always back up your passwords before proceeding. This gives you the option to retrieve your login details if you change your mind later.
Delete All Your Keychain Passwords in macOS
How to remove all keychain passwords in MacOS.