Fix: iCloud Keychain not working in Safari

Private Browsing Mode Message iPhonePrivate Browsing Mode Message iPhone

If you use iCloud Keychain to save your account names and passwords for websites, it makes logging into your favorite sites a breeze. You don’t have to remember tons of passwords and can use iCloud Keychain across your devices. It’s a fantastic time-saver, except when you find iCloud Keychain not working. If you’re stuck and if Safari isn’t autofilling your account information or details for your credit card, here are a few things to try.

Autofill and private browsing settings

First, make sure that your autofill options are enabled and that you don’t have private browsing turned on in Safari.

On iPhone or iPad

Open the Settings on your iPhone or iPad and then do the following to check the autofill options.

1) In your Settings, select Passwords & Accounts.

2) Tap Autofill Passwords.

3) Make sure that the Autofill Passwords toggle is on and that iCloud Keychain is checked.

Password iPhone Settings AutofillPassword iPhone Settings Autofill

To view the details for your autofill contact information and enable credit cards, follow these steps.

1) In your Settings, select Safari.

2) Under General, tap Autofill.

3) Turn on the toggles for Use Contact Info and Credit Cards. You can view the details being used by tapping My Info and Saved Credit Cards.

Safari iPhone Settings AutofillSafari iPhone Settings Autofill

4) Open Safari and make sure that you’re not using private browsing. Safari won’t save your autofill information if you are. You can tell if you’ve enabled private browsing if the navigation bar is black. And when you tap the Tabs button, you’ll see that Private is highlighted. Tap Private to disable it.

Safari iPhone Private Browsingsafari-iphone-private-browsing-6974014

On Mac

On your Mac, open Safari and then follow these steps to check autofill and private browsing.

1) Click Safari > Preferences from the menu bar.

2) Choose the Autofill tab.

3) Be sure that User names and passwords and Credit cards are both checked. You can click the Edit button next to each to view the details if needed.

Safari Mac Settings Autofillsafari-mac-settings-autofill-6272479

4) Like on iOS, your autofill details will not be saved if you are using private browsing and you can tell if you are by the dark navigation bar. Simply close that window and reopen without private browsing.

Safari Mac Private Browsingsafari-mac-private-browsing-8313079

If Safari won’t save a password on a site you’re visiting, keep in mind that some websites request that passwords not be saved.

Wrapping it up

If you’re having issues with iCloud Keychain autofilling your account details or credit cards, hopefully these steps will help you fix it.

For more, check out how to view your iCloud Keychain passwords on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.