Safari keeps forgetting passwords, until app restarts

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Safari keeps forgetting passwords, until app restarts

As the title says, Safari keeps forgetting my passwords - nothing autofills and when I look in the Passwords in Settings it is completely empty. Happens every week now and seems to be getting more frequent - it's been happening for a few months, but it's getting more annoying! Quitting Safari and reopening always fixes it (so far!). Today it forgot all the passwords except the compromised / repeated ones (well I know those already don't I as they're all the same!), but all the passwords were there again when I closed Safari and restarted.

Latest MacOS and Safari on iMac 2020 27". Passwords seem work on my old (far less used) iMac and always work on my iPhone, just the daily iMac. No extensions installed.

I assume it is some config file that has corrupted, but where is it?

iMac 27″, 13.4

Posted on Jun 5, 2023 5:10 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

srbwanderer

Community Specialist

Jun 7, 2023 9:18 AM in response to aaang

Hello aaang,

The key to finding a solution to an issue like this is to try to isolate where it coming from.

We would suggest starting up the system in what is called safe mode. Safe mode only loads what is needed to run the computer. This can help isolate what is causing issues.

To start in safe mode, follow these steps:

"1. Turn on or restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Shift key as your Mac starts up.

2. Release the key when you see the login window, then log in to your Mac.

3. You might be asked to log in again. On either the first or second login window, you should see ”Safe Boot” in the upper-right corner of the window."

More information is available here: How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

The computer will take longer to start in safe mode, and the screen may have some distorted video as it starts up. This is normal. Once you are logged in, use the system and test to see if the issue continues.

If everything seems to work as expected, go ahead and restart the computer normally and test again. There are steps outlined on what to do if the issue does or does not continue in safe mode.

Starting in safe mode also forces the computer to run some disk checks similar to First Aid. This can actually resolve some issues.

Have a good day.

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Answer 2

aaang Author

Level 1

9 points

Jun 22, 2023 2:44 AM in response to aaang

An update:

I quit safari, deleted (moved to the desktop) the whole Safari folder from Library and restarted Safari that seems to have fixed it. It seemed to recover all my bookmarks, history and passwords from iCloud pretty much instantly. The only minor downside is that it has lost the little picture of the websites next to the website name in bookmarks until I visit the site again - no big deal.

It's been well over a week now - so I'm cautiously optimistic...

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Answer 3

Jun 21, 2023 7:35 AM in response to aaang

My wife and I are seeing the same thing. We have separate accounts on a Mac mini M1 running Ventura 13.4 and Safari 16.5. This has been happening for some time. Quitting and restarting Safari always fixes this. So, following the instructions of srbwanderer would also fix it but is a much more complicated process.

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Safari keeps forgetting passwords, until app restarts

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