Safari autofill using out-of-date contact information

Safari autofill, on both my Mac and my iPhone and iPad, uses out of date contact information, both an email address that has been dead and removed from my contact card for probably a decade and a mailing address that has been dead and removed for about two years. I went to Safari > Settings > AutoFill and confirmed that the "using information from my contacts" checkbox is ticked; I also confirmed that both the old email address and the old mailing address are removed from my contact, and that neither address appears in any contact in my address book.


This has persisted across three or four laptop replacements, at least two iPhone replacements, and at least two iPad replacements, as well as numerous software updates of both macOS and iOS/iPadOS. I've also confirmed that the old email address is not associated with my Apple ID. (It was my primary Apple ID email address in the distant past, but not for a decade now.)


Any suggestions for other places to remove the out of date address from autofill?

MacBook Pro 14″

Posted on Jan 27, 2023 11:37 AM

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Posted on Jan 30, 2023 09:14 AM

In AutoFill, I have "using information from my contacts", "credit cards", and "other forms" selected. I do not have "use names and passwords" selected; I use 1Password as my password manager and fill in usernames and passwords from there. However, it is the Safari (not 1Password) autofill that is using my old email address. I cannot find the old email stored anywhere.


Is there a .plist file somewhere that might have the old information stored? Do I recall that in ancient versions of Safari you specified the autofill values directly in Safari preferences rather than in the contact card? Maybe there is some old setting like that that is no longer accessed in the Safari interface?


I am currently running macOS 13.2, Safari 16.3, iOS 16.2. Looks like it was in 2018 that my old email went completely defunct, but I stopped using it a year or two before then. It was my primary email from 2004 until I received warnings that it would be going away in 2016 or 2017; I was using Macs and Safari throughout that period, so a wide range of versions, updates, and computer and phone replacements, so there may be preferences that have propagated forward from as long ago as 2004. The old mailing address I see routinely was my primary address form 2017 to 2020. Older mailing address (pre-2017) do not autofill.


This email (and old mailing address) appears whenever I have a form that requests an email or address that is not a login page (eg checkout at an online retailer). I see no particular pattern, and it is not specific to any web site that I can identify. I just tried checking out as a guest at bestbuy.com, and on both my iPhone and my Mac it correctly gave my two current emails (home and work) from my contact card, plus the iCloud hide my email option, as the choices for autofill in the email field. At other times, it only gives my defunct email as an option.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 30, 2023 09:14 AM in response to Omar_A1

In AutoFill, I have "using information from my contacts", "credit cards", and "other forms" selected. I do not have "use names and passwords" selected; I use 1Password as my password manager and fill in usernames and passwords from there. However, it is the Safari (not 1Password) autofill that is using my old email address. I cannot find the old email stored anywhere.


Is there a .plist file somewhere that might have the old information stored? Do I recall that in ancient versions of Safari you specified the autofill values directly in Safari preferences rather than in the contact card? Maybe there is some old setting like that that is no longer accessed in the Safari interface?


I am currently running macOS 13.2, Safari 16.3, iOS 16.2. Looks like it was in 2018 that my old email went completely defunct, but I stopped using it a year or two before then. It was my primary email from 2004 until I received warnings that it would be going away in 2016 or 2017; I was using Macs and Safari throughout that period, so a wide range of versions, updates, and computer and phone replacements, so there may be preferences that have propagated forward from as long ago as 2004. The old mailing address I see routinely was my primary address form 2017 to 2020. Older mailing address (pre-2017) do not autofill.


This email (and old mailing address) appears whenever I have a form that requests an email or address that is not a login page (eg checkout at an online retailer). I see no particular pattern, and it is not specific to any web site that I can identify. I just tried checking out as a guest at bestbuy.com, and on both my iPhone and my Mac it correctly gave my two current emails (home and work) from my contact card, plus the iCloud hide my email option, as the choices for autofill in the email field. At other times, it only gives my defunct email as an option.

Jan 29, 2023 04:40 PM in response to ashill

Hello ashill,


Thank you for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.


Let's go into the autofill settings and check to see if that email is saved for any websites:


In the Safari app  on your Mac, use AutoFill settings to fill in contact information, user names and passwords, credit card information, and other forms on webpages.
To change these settings, choose Safari > Settings, then click AutoFill.


More details can be found here: Change AutoFill settings in Safari on Mac


If you locate this email stored anywhere, delete or update it to your current email address.


If the issue persists, can you provide a few more details? What is your exact macOS version? Also, does this email appear when visiting specific websites?


Cheers!

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Safari autofill using out-of-date contact information

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