How to Set Up Touch ID and Use it to Secure Your Mac

User authentication methods on mobile devices have evolved rapidly over the years. Today we have in-display fingerprint sensors and Face ID for user authentication. Microsoft has brought Windows Hello facial recognition, which comes with a fingerprint scanner on corporate laptops. Apple’s 2016 MacBook lineup introduced Touch ID integration in macOS. Since then, it’s been a constant struggle to set up Touch ID and use it wisely to secure apps on your Mac.

Unlike Windows, Touch ID hardware is tightly integrated into macOS. You can use it to authenticate in-app purchases, Apple Pay payments, the sign-in system, and other aspects of the macOS system.

In 2020, Apple offers more reasons to buy a MacBook with a lower price and higher base storage. If you have recently purchased one, I highly recommend enabling and using Touch ID on Mac. It will save you from adding an Apple ID password over and over and make the whole macOS experience flawless.

In this post, we will guide you on how to set up Touch ID on Mac and use macOS features to secure apps and authentication. We will also list some of the limitations of Touch ID.

Where Is Touch ID On My MacBook?

As previously mentioned, Apple’s 2016 MacBooks have integrated Touch ID to the right of the Touch Bar. Starting with the 2019 MacBook models, Apple provides a dedicated space for Touch ID. See the image below to find the Touch ID location.

Those with standard MacBooks and newer MacBook Air models, Touch ID is compatible with the function keys in the upper right corner.

How to Set Up Touch ID

Users often set up Touch ID when they first set up their Mac. If you skipped this part, follow the steps below to enable Touch ID on your MacBook.

Make sure your finger is clean and dry. Remove any moisture, lotion, sweat or oil from your fingertips.

Stage 1: Click the Apple menu icon in the upper left corner and go to System Preferences.

Step 2: Click on Touch ID.

Stage 3: Click the ‘+’ icon to add a fingerprint, then type the user account password when prompted.

Step 4: Follow the instructions on the screen. Make sure to cover the entire area with your finger.

Step 5: Use the checkboxes to select the Touch ID features you want to use on the Mac.

Do not press the button while adding a fingerprint. Slowly put your finger in and lift it when asked. If you’re having problems with incorrect authentication, try adding the same finger twice.

How Secure is Touch ID

Apple has developed a new T-series processor to store your fingerprints. To put it bluntly, Touch ID is an excellent method for verifying logins and payments. The T1 chip has an advanced architecture called the Secure Enclave, developed to protect your password and fingerprint data. Touch ID does not store any images of your fingerprint and instead relies solely on a mathematical representation. It is not possible for someone to reverse your actual fingerprint image from this stored data.

Your fingerprint data is encrypted, stored on the device, and protected with a key that can only be used by the Secure Enclave. Your fingerprint data is only used by the Secure Enclave to verify that the fingerprint matches the registered fingerprint data. You can think of the Secure Enclave as your Apple device’s own safe.

The Secure Enclave cannot be accessed by the operating system on your device or any application running on it. It is never stored on Apple servers, never backed up to iCloud or elsewhere, and cannot be used to match with other fingerprint databases. This is how the iPhone has been hiding fingerprints for years.

Apple’s latest MacBooks feature the T2 security chip, which provides encrypted storage for fingerprint data and secure boot.

Where Can You Use Touch ID on macOS?

Users can use Touch ID to unlock their Mac and make Mac App Store or iTunes Store purchases. You can also make easy, secure and private purchases on websites using Apple Pay.

Apple Pay never stores your credit or debit card information and never shares it with the seller. It’s also useful for autofilling passwords in certain apps that support Touch ID authentication.

For example, Touch ID will prompt when you try to view password-protected Notes in the Apple Notes app. You can also use Touch ID in the Passwords section of Safari preferences.

If multiple users set up Touch ID and log in to the same Mac, they can use Touch ID to switch accounts. Just press Touch ID and your Mac will switch to the signed-in user account associated with the fingerprint.

Beware of Touch ID Limitations

You must enter your passcode instead of using Touch ID in the following situations:

• When you shut down the MacBook and restart it from scratch (quite annoying as I mostly use the Shut down option instead of the Sleep function).
• You have logged out of the user account.
• Your fingerprint is not recognized five times in a row.
• You haven’t unlocked your Mac for more than 48 hours.
• You have just registered or deleted fingerprints.

Protect your Mac with Touch ID

Touch ID is a great security option from Apple for Mac users. It’s a bit disheartening that Apple continues to use 720p cameras on its 2020 MacBook models. As such, new MacBook models that integrate Face ID and Touch ID are still a few years away. How has your Touch ID experience been so far? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Next: Your MacBook can be the perfect tool to organize your life. Read the post below to find the seven best Mac apps to stay organized.