Turn autocomplete off for one app, or for an hour.
Typeahead already stays out of password fields and search boxes. The rest is yours: pause it, switch it off per app, or set how often it suggests.
Fewer, later, or off.
Too many suggestions? Some quiet is automatic. The rest is a click away.
A password field: dots, the caret, and no suggestion.
Quiet where it should be.
Never in password fields, and off in password managers from the start.
Three apps with their switches: Messages and Notion on, Slack switched off.
Off for one app.
Switch it off for one app in Settings, or right from the menu bar.
Settings, General: Suggestion frequency, set to Fewer; the other choices are Standard and More.
Fewer, if you like.
Set Frequency to Fewer and only its most confident suggestions show.
Only where you write.
It holds back in search boxes, the To line and small form fields, and shows up where you write.
It comes back on its own.
Pause for 30 minutes, an hour or until tomorrow. Settings shows the time left, and Resume brings it back early.
Apple’s predictions are separate.
This page covers Typeahead’s own settings.
Inline predictions.
System Settings › Keyboard › Text Input › Edit: Show inline predictive text.
Autocorrect.
In the same pane: Correct spelling automatically.
Typeahead’s own switch.
In the menu bar: pause it, or turn it off for one app.
In detail.
Where it stays off, and the switches you have.
Off where it should be.
Typeahead never suggests in password fields. Out of the box it’s off in password managers, crypto wallets, finance apps, Keychain Access and Finder, and in terminals and code editors until you switch it on. In Mail it leaves the To, Cc and Subject lines alone. More on the privacy page.
Pausing.
From the menu bar, or Settings › General, pause for 30 minutes, an hour or until tomorrow. The menu bar icon dims while it’s paused, and suggestions come back by themselves when the time is up, or as soon as you choose Resume.
App by app.
Settings › Apps lists the apps you’ve set up. Switch one off and Typeahead stays out of it; the menu bar’s submenu does the same for the app you’re in. Each app can also have its own writing style, keys and context settings.
How often, and when.
Frequency (Fewer, Standard or More) sets how sure a suggestion must be before it shows. Timing (Instant, Balanced or Relaxed) sets when it appears: as you type, at a natural pace, or only when you pause. Appearance decides whether it shows in small fields too. More on speed.
Common questions
With Typeahead, open its menu in the menu bar, go to the app you’re in and choose Disable for that app. Or switch the app off in Settings › Apps. Typeahead stays out of that app until you switch it back on, and works as usual everywhere else.
Yes. From the menu bar, pause for 30 minutes, an hour or until tomorrow. It comes back on its own when the time is up, or straight away if you choose Resume.
No. Typeahead stays off in password fields, and out of the box it’s off in password managers, crypto wallets, finance apps and Finder.
Yes. Set Frequency to Fewer and only the most confident suggestions appear. Set Timing to Relaxed and it waits until you pause typing.
On the default Balanced setting, Typeahead hides in search boxes, command palettes and small form fields, and always shows in message and reply boxes. Choose Everywhere in Settings › General to see it in small fields too.
That’s a macOS setting, separate from Typeahead: open System Settings › Keyboard, click Edit next to Input Sources under Text Input, and switch off Show inline predictive text. Typeahead points you there if both are on, because the two would compete for the same spot.
For Typeahead, yes: choose Disable for the app you’re in from its menu bar menu, and it stays on everywhere else. Apple’s inline predictive text is a single switch in System Settings › Keyboard (Edit next to Input Sources) that applies across your Mac.
