Are you seeing an error along the lines of “Accountsd wants to use the login keychain“? While it’s easy to assume that it’s some type of virus, the more likely explanation is that something is going on with your passwords and iCloud Keychain. Considering Accountsd helps with starting login credentials for apps and other services on your Mac, it needs access to your keychain to function properly. Your keychain is the one that manages your passwords, which is where we’ll be looking.

Let’s explore the solutions to this problem and get your Accounts back on track.

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If you’re receiving a “Accountsd wants to use keychain” error message, the most likely explanation is that the password for your Mac and the login password for your keychain are not synced. Re-syncing the two may solve your problem. Follow these steps:

First, open Keychain Access. It can be found in Applications > Utilities.
Select the Edit menu and choose Choose password for keychain “login.”
Your keychain may be locked. Try entering the previous password for your account. You will see a window appear if you enter the correct password. If you don’t remember it, skip this solution.
In the box labeled Current Password, enter the previous password.
Within the New Password field, enter your current user password.
Verify your password

Should things go well, your passwords will sync and you will no longer receive the message.

2. Disable Keychain Auto-Lock

It may be that you’re receiving this message due to iCloud Keychain locking automatically. You can disable this so that you no longer need to enter your password.

Open Keychain Access.
Right-click or ctrl-click within the login and choose Change Settings for Keychain login.
Uncheck Lock after sleeping and Lock after. . .
Select Save.

3. Reset Default Local Keychain

This can be useful if you continue to receive a message from a browser window asking for login keychain use. It’s possible there is a bug within the keychain itself. Performing a reset on your keychain may do the trick.

First, launch Keychain Access.
Open Keychain Access settings from the menu bar or by pressing (Command+ ,).
Select Reset Default Keychains. Enter your password and click Okay.

4. Create a New Keychain

If you continue having issues with your existing keychain, you may want to simply create a new one.

NOTE

You will likely be asked to enter your password several times during this process.

From the menu bar, select Go > Go to Folder. You can also press Shift + Command + G.
Type ~/Library/Keychains
Copy the Keychains folder and paste it to your desktop.
Give the folder a new name.
Reset the default local Keychain—the steps are in solution three.
From the menu bar, go to File > New Keychain.
Select the Keychain from your Desktop and select Add.
You can import items from the old keychain to your new keychain by right-clicking the old keychain and selecting Copy [item name]. Paste it within the main window by right-clicking or ctrl-clicking and selecting Paste [item name].

While this can be a frustrating situation to be in, there are solutions available that would hopefully work for you. You may also want to know how to clear a virus from your Mac in 2024.