Touch ID lets you unlock your Mac, approve Apple Pay purchases, install apps, and fill passwords with a fingerprint instead of typing your password every time. Setting it up takes about a minute. Here is how to add your first fingerprint, what you can use it for, and how to add more prints for other fingers or family members.
Does your Mac have Touch ID?
The Touch ID sensor is the top-right key on the keyboard. You have it if you own one of these:
- Any MacBook Pro from 2016 onward (the sensor sits beside the Touch Bar or, on 2021-and-later models, at the top-right of the keyboard).
- Any MacBook Air from 2018 onward (M1, M2, and M3 Airs all have it).
- A desktop Mac — iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, or Mac Pro — paired with a Magic Keyboard with Touch ID (the Apple-silicon keyboard with the fingerprint key). The sensor does not work on those desktops with an older keyboard.
Not sure which model you have? Check how to identify your MacBook model and year.
Set up Touch ID: add your first fingerprint
- Open System Settings (Apple menu > System Settings; on macOS Monterey or earlier it is System Preferences).
- Click Touch ID & Password in the sidebar (older macOS lists it simply as Touch ID).
- Click Add Fingerprint and enter your login password when asked.
- Rest the finger you want to use on the Touch ID key — do not press, just touch — and lift it, over and over, as the on-screen fingerprint fills in red.
- When it asks, adjust your grip so it can read the edges of your fingertip, then keep touching until setup finishes.
- Click Done. Your fingerprint is now saved as "Finger 1."
Rename a print at any time by clicking its name in the same panel, so "Finger 1" can become "Right index."
Choose what Touch ID unlocks
In the same Touch ID & Password panel, turn on the toggles for how you want to use it:
- Unlocking your Mac — sign in and wake from sleep with a fingerprint instead of typing your password.
- Apple Pay — approve purchases in Safari and the App Store with a touch.
- iTunes Store, App Store & Apple Books — confirm app installs and purchases.
- Password AutoFill — fill saved passwords and passkeys with your fingerprint.
- Fast user switching — jump between accounts with a print (when more than one is enabled).
Third-party apps such as 1Password can also use Touch ID; you enable that inside each app's own settings, not here.
Add more fingerprints (up to three)
A Mac can store up to three fingerprints. It is worth adding a second finger you naturally use — many people enroll both index fingers, or a thumb — so an awkward grip still unlocks the Mac. Click Add Fingerprint again and repeat the enrollment. Those three slots are per user account, so a second person with their own login can enroll their own prints on the same Mac.
To remove one, hover over the fingerprint in the list, click the x, and confirm with your password.
Set up Touch ID on a used or newly bought Mac
Just got the machine? Do a clean setup first: sign in to your own Apple Account and create your own user before enrolling a fingerprint, so the prints are tied to your login and not a previous owner's. Our full walkthrough covers it: how to set up a used MacBook.
When Touch ID asks for your password instead
By design, macOS still requires your typed password in a few situations, even with Touch ID on:
- After you restart or shut down and turn the Mac on.
- When more than 48 hours have passed since the last unlock.
- After five failed fingerprint attempts.
- To change certain security settings.
That is normal, not a fault. If the sensor stops reading your finger entirely or the toggle is greyed out, work through Touch ID not working — every fix in order.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Touch ID sensor on a MacBook?
It is the top-right key on the keyboard. On 2016–2020 MacBook Pros it sits just to the right of the Touch Bar; on the 2021-and-later 14-inch and 16-inch Pros and every Touch ID-equipped Air it is a slightly recessed key in the top-right corner.
How many fingerprints can I add?
Three per user account. Adding a couple of the fingers you actually use makes everyday unlocking far more reliable.
Can I use Touch ID for Apple Pay?
Yes. Turn on the Apple Pay toggle in System Settings > Touch ID & Password, and you can approve purchases in Safari and the App Store with a fingerprint.
Why does my Mac ask for my password after a restart?
For security, macOS requires your typed password the first time you log in after any restart or shutdown, and again if the Mac has been locked for more than 48 hours. Touch ID takes over for everyday unlocks after that.
Do desktop Macs support Touch ID?
Yes, if you use a Magic Keyboard with Touch ID on an Apple-silicon iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, or Mac Pro. The fingerprint key on that keyboard is what does the reading — the desktop itself has no sensor.
Touch ID is one of those small features that makes a Mac feel effortless once it is set up. If you are shopping for a Touch ID-equipped Mac, every model we sell has the sensor — browse our Apple clearance deals on tested, warrantied refurbished MacBooks starting at $569.99, or explore more Mac how-to guides.