How to set up Touch ID on a Mac

2 min read · 5 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

Touch ID lets you unlock the Mac, fill in passwords and confirm purchases with a fingertip. The sensor is the key at the top right of the keyboard on MacBooks and on Magic Keyboards with Touch ID.

These steps are for recent versions of macOS, where the settings app is called System Settings. The pictures are our own screenshots from macOS Tahoe 26 on a MacBook Pro.

Step by step

1. 

   Open System Settings and click Touch ID & Password

   Click the Apple menu, then System Settings. Scroll down in the sidebar to Touch ID & Password.

   Done

2. 

   Click Add Fingerprint

   It is the round plus button. Enter your Mac password when asked.

   Done

3. Place and lift your finger

   Follow the instructions on screen. Rest the finger on the Touch ID key and lift it, again and again, without pressing the key down.

   Done

4. 

   Choose what Touch ID is used for

   The page lists the uses: unlocking your Mac, Apple Pay, purchases in the iTunes Store, App Store and Apple Books, autofilling passwords, and fast user switching. Switch each one on or off.

   Done

5. Add a second finger

   Click Add Fingerprint again for a finger of the other hand. One account can have up to three fingerprints, and one Mac up to five in total.

   Done

Good to know

The Mac still asks for the password sometimes: after you start it, every 48 hours, and after five fingerprint attempts that did not work.

To name a fingerprint, click the text below it. To delete one, click the fingerprint, enter your password, click Unlock and then Delete.

If the sensor often fails, clean and dry the key and your finger, delete the fingerprint and add it again.

Changing the password itself: how to change your password on a Mac.

In short: System Settings, Touch ID & Password, Add Fingerprint, follow the instructions.