Should You Disable Touch ID or Face ID for Passwords on iPhone and iPad

You must use Touch ID and Face ID (or one of them) to unlock your iPhone or iPad. The two also serve as essential gatekeepers for purchases from the iTunes and App Store. And you probably have no qualms about this. But did you think twice before disabling Face ID or Touch ID to verify the password on iPhone or iPad for ease of use? Should you turn them off completely?

But if you are using Safari as your reference browser, you must go through a Touch ID or Face ID security check every time you want to automatically fill in passwords stored in the iCloud keychain. And this can lead to unnecessary delays. This is generally the case with Touch ID in particular.

If you want to stop using Touch ID or Face ID when auto-filling passwords in Safari, or when connecting to third-party apps, iOS and iPadOS provide easy ways to do this.

Let’s see how to disable Touch ID and Face ID on iPhone and iPad. Before that it is worth considering the potential implications of disabling this security measure.

If you disable Touch ID or Face ID for passwords

If you disable Touch ID or Face ID for iCloud keychain passwords, the entire process of auto-filling them becomes easier. No more worrying about Touch ID not triggering because of a sweaty finger or grime. Or Face ID not detecting your face due to an obstacle to the TrueDepth camera on your iPhone or iPad.

But there is a reason why your device implements such a security measure in the first place. If not for Touch ID or Face ID, anyone can use your unlocked iPhone or iPad to launch Safari on it and connect to secure web portals without any problems. In addition, several third-party applications whose login information is stored in the iCloud keychain are also vulnerable to unauthorized access.

On the iPhone, this is not necessarily a problem as the default auto lockout time is quite short. This helps reduce the chances of someone else accessing your device. But it usually takes a while to shut down automatically, and this can be a problem.

If you often leave your iPhone or iPad unlocked, be sure to shorten the duration of the automatic lock. If this is not viable, it is wise to leave Touch ID or Face ID activated for automatic password filling.

But if you almost always keep your iPhone or iPad with you with a very short automatic lock time in place, or if you lock the device manually, disabling Touch ID of Face ID for automatic password filling will only be probably not a problem.

Note: Disabling biometric authentication for automatic password filling will not affect other areas of the iCloud keychain. For example, your full list of login information cannot be viewed using the on-screen keyboard or the Settings app (Passwords and Accounts> Website and App Passwords) without having to go through by Touch ID / Face ID verification.

Disabling Touch ID or Face ID for automatic password filling

Have you decided to deactivate Touch ID / Face ID for automatic password filling on your iPhone or iPad? Then here are the steps to do it. The process is the same on iOS and iPadOS.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad. Scroll down and tap Touch ID & Passcode or Face ID & Passcode. Enter your device access code to continue.

2nd step: Turn off the switch next to Password AutoFill.

Point: You can also find the Face ID or Touch ID commands for device unlock, Apple Pay, and iTunes or App Store purchases listed on this screen. You can also manage apps that use biometric authentication by tapping More apps.

And that’s all. Whenever you try to automatically fill in passwords stored in the iCloud keychain, whether in Safari or in a third-party application, your iPhone or iPad will no longer need any form of authentication.

If you want to re-enable biometric authentication for passwords later, just go back to iPhone / iPad settings, tap Touch ID / Face ID & Passcode, then turn on the switch next to Password AutoFill.

You can also shorten the duration of the automatic lock to minimize the chance that someone else will use your device and connect to sensitive web portals and applications without your permission.

To do this, tap Display & Brightness in the iPhone / iPad Settings app, then choose a shorter duration. Preferably, the shorter the better.

Safety and convenience

Disabling Touch ID / Face ID for automatic password filling makes the connection process to sites and applications quick and painless. But whether or not you should get rid of this extra security largely depends on how you use your device.

Again, if you are diligent in not allowing unauthorized access to your iPhone or iPad, then there should be no problem.

But if you’re inclined to leave it unlocked, or if you have very sensitive login information stored in the iCloud keychain, it’s best to keep the biometric security measure in place. It is simply not worth the risk.