Using Form Autofill or Autocomplete in Your Web Browser

Fill those blanks with a simple click

Most web browsers can store data you're repeatedly asked to provide on websites. Such information includes usernames, passwords, credit cards, and the like. Commonly known as autocomplete or autofill, this feature gives your tired fingers a reprieve and speeds up the form completion process considerably. Each application handles autocomplete/autofill differently. The step-by-step tutorials below show you how to use this functionality in the web browser of your choice.

How to Use Autofill in Google Chrome

If you use Chrome on Chrome OS, LinuxmacOS, or Windows, it's easy to access and edit the personal information used in autofill. Here's how to do it:

  1. Open Chrome and click on your profile icon in the top-right corner.

  2. Select either Payment options or Addresses and more to see the information autocomplete is currently using.

    Payment methods in Chrome
  3. Toggle the Save and fill addresses or Save and fill passwords switch depending on whether or not you want to use autocomplete.

    The "Save and Fill Addresses" option in Chrome
  4. Below that, you can see the addresses and payment options already stored in Chrome. Click the More actions icon (the three vertical dots next to an entry) to edit or remove one.

    You can edit or remove stored addresses in Chrome's settings
  5. If you choose to edit, a pop-up window appears containing the following editable fields: Name, Organization, Street address, City, State, Zip code, Country/Region, Phone, and Email. Once you are satisfied with the information shown, click on the Save button to return to the previous screen.

    If you want to edit a payment method, you need to use Google Pay.

  6. To manually add a new address or payment method, click on the Add button and fill in the fields provided. Click on the Save button to store this data when you're finished.

    Any payment methods you add to Chrome manually are only saved on the device you add them on.

How to Use Autocomplete in Android

Google's Chrome web browser can fill out forms automatically with saved info like your home address and email. It might ask you if you want to save your data the first time you enter it into a form online, but if it doesn't you can add, edit, or delete your info manually. Here's how.

  1. Open the Chrome app on your Android phone.

  2. Tap the main menu button, located in the upper right-hand corner, and represented by three horizontally-aligned dots.

  3. Tap Settings > Addresses and more or Payment methods.

  4. From here, you can add, edit, or delete your personal information. Tapping on an address or credit card allows you to modify the data associated with it, including your name, country/region, street address, zip code, and more. Once you're satisfied with the changes, tap Done to save them and return to the previous screen. Tap the trash can icon to delete the info entirely.

    Settings, Addresses & More, and the Add button in Android
  5. To add a new address or payment method, tap Add address or Add card. Enter the desired details in the fields provided and select DONE when complete.

How to Use Autofill in Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox on Linux, Mac, and Windows automatically saves and fills in your login information by default. Here's what you need to do if you don't want this feature turned on, or if you want to edit or remove the stored information.

  1. Type the following text into Firefox's address bar: about:preferences#privacy.

  2. Firefox's Privacy preferences should now be visible in the active tab. Under the History section is an option labeled Firefox will: accompanied by a drop-down menu. Click on this menu and select Use custom settings for history.

    Select Use custom settings for history to tweak Firefox's autofill information
  3. Several new options are now displayed, each with its own checkbox. To stop Firefox from saving most of the information you enter into web forms, remove the checkmark next to the option labeled Remember search and form history. This also disables search history from being stored.

  4. To delete any data previously stored by the Auto Form Fill feature, select Clear History. A dialog box should open. At the top is an option labeled Time range to clear, where you can choose to delete data from a specific time period. You can also remove all data by selecting the Everything option from the drop-down menu.

    You can clear your entire autofill history in Firefox in the options
  5. Located below the time range settings are several options accompanied by checkboxes. Each data component that has a checkmark next to it will be deleted, while those without one remain untouched. To clear saved form data from the specified interval, place a checkmark next to Form & Search History if one doesn't already exist. Select OK when ready to delete the specified information.

    Before moving forward you should ensure only the data components you wish to delete are selected.

  6. In addition to form-related data such as addresses and phone numbers, Firefox also provides the ability to save and later prepopulate usernames and passwords for websites that require authentication. To access the settings related to this functionality, go back to the about:preferences#privacy page.

  7. Go to the Logins and passwords section. Autofill logins and passwords is checked by default. When active, this setting instructs Firefox to store login credentials for autofill purposes. Remove the checkmark to disable it if you don't want to use it.

    The "Autofill logins and passwords" option in Firefox
  8. The Exceptions button in this section opens a list sites where usernames and passwords aren't stored even when the feature is enabled. These exceptions are created whenever Firefox prompts you to store a password and you choose the option labeled Never for this site. Exceptions can be removed from the list via the Remove Website or Remove All Websites buttons.

    You can manage autofill exceptions for websites that require login credentials
  9. The Saved Logins button lists all of the credentials previously stored by Firefox. Details shown with each set include the corresponding URL, the username, the date and time it was last used, as well as the date and time it was most recently modified.

    For security purposes, the passwords themselves are not shown by default. To view your saved passwords in clear text, click on the Show Passwords button. Values found in both the Username and Password columns are editable; just double-click on the respective field and enter the new text.

    To delete an individual set of credentials, select it by clicking on it once. Next, click on the Remove button. To delete all saved usernames and passwords, click on the Remove All button.

    Firefox Lockwise lets you see, edit, and create login credentials for websites
  10. Select the Create New Login button to manually enter credentials for a website.

How to Use Autocomplete in Microsoft Edge

Edge asks if you want to save your card information whenever you make a purchase so you don't have to remember the information each time you buy something. It also remembers addresses. Here's how to modify autocomplete settings in the Windows browser.

  1. Open Edge and select the Settings and more icon (the three horizontal dots in the upper right corner), then select Settings.

    Settings in Edge
  2. Choose either Payment info or Addresses and more depending on which information you want to modify.

    The "Payment info" and "Addresses and more" options in Edge settings
  3. Slide the toggle on or off to enable or disable autocomplete.

    The "Save and fill addresses" switch in Edge
  4. Click the Add Address or Add Card button to manually enter new information.

    The "Add address" button in Edge
  5. Select the More icon next to an address or card to edit or remove its associated information.

    The More icon for an address in Edge

How to Use Autofill in Apple Safari on macOS

Although they're all owned by Apple, managing autofill settings is different on a Mac than it is on an iPhone or iPad. Here's how to do it on the former.

  1. Click on Safari in your browser menu, located at the top of the screen. When the drop-down menu appears, select the Preferences option.

    You can also use the following keyboard shortcut in place of this menu item: COMMAND+COMMA (,).

    The Preferences option under the Safari menu
  2. Click the Autofill icon.

    The AutoFill tab in Safari preferences
  3. The following four options are offered here, each accompanied by a checkbox and Edit button.

    • Using info from my Contacts card: Utilizes personal details from the operating system's Contacts app.
    • User names and passwords: Stores and retrieves names and passwords needed for website authentication.
    • Credit cards: Allows Autofill to save and populate credit card numbers, expiration dates, and security codes.
    • Other forms: Encompasses other common information requested in web forms that are not included in the above categories.

    When a checkmark appears next to a category type, that information is used by Safari when auto-populating web forms. To add/remove a checkmark, simply click on it once.

    AutoFill options in Safari
  4. To add, view, or modify information to one of the above categories, click on the Edit button.

  5. Choosing to edit the information from your Contacts card opens the Contacts app. Meanwhile, editing names and passwords loads the Passwords preferences interface, where you can view, modify, or delete user credentials for individual sites. Clicking on the Edit button for credit cards or other form data causes a slide-out panel to appear, displaying relevant information that's saved for Autofill purposes.

How to Use Autofill in iOS

Follow the below steps to manage your autofill settings and information on an iOS device such as an iPhone or iPad:

  1. Tap Settings > Safari.

    The Safari heading in Settings
  2. Tap Autofill, which is located under the General heading.

    The AutoFill heading in iPad settings
  3. Here you see options for both contact info and credit cards. Slide the toggles to the off position if you don't want Safari to use this information.

    Slide the toggles off if you don't want Apple to use your contact info for autofill
  4. Safari uses the information stored in Contacts for its autofill settings. If you tap on My Info, it brings up your contacts list. You can choose to use another contact if you wish. If you want to edit your contact info, you need to do that in the Contacts app.

    "My Info" in AutoFill settings on an iPad
  5. If you tap on Saved Credit Cards, you can choose to add a card to your autofill settings or delete one.

    The "Saved Credit Cards" heading in AutoFill settings
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