Encrypted sparse image no longer asks for password

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Level 10

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Encrypted sparse image no longer asks for password

I have an encrypted sparse image that I probably created on Mavericks. I have been using this for many years for storing some critical data. If I wanted to open the image I would have to enter a password to do so. This worked on High Sierra as well.

I am now using the Sequoia 15.6.1 and I am pretty sure I have opened the image several times since first starting to use Sequoia 15.6 a month or so ago. I am pretty sure I had to enter my password because I would have noticed it if I no longer had to. That would have been under 15.6. I have noticed, though, that the last couple of times (maybe since the 15.6.1 update?) that upon double clicking on the file, the image has just popped up in my sidebar without asking for a password.

As I have noted in my threads on this forum previously, I jumped from High Sierra to Sequoia so I am experiencing many new OS behaviors and I don't know which ones are things Apple's "feature improvements" and which ones are, uh, bugs. Is this now how Sequoia behaves, and if it is, is there an alternative secure image type? The image contains about 30 small files that get edited on occasion, and a new one added (hence the nice aspect of image size flexibility). I know I could use an alternative encryption tool to create a new encrypted file each time but the interface is a lot smoother when using an encrypted sparse image.

Mac mini (M4)

Posted on Aug 28, 2025 07:55 AM

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Answer 1

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neuroanatomist

Level 9

52,215 points

Aug 28, 2025 08:33 AM in response to Limnos

Limnos wrote:

I just checked the Passwords application which I have never used and had to set up. It has 3 passwords in it (maybe from using my browser?) but not for that image. I wouldn't have checked that box if it was offered.

It will not show up in the Passwords app. It will show up in Keychain Access, since it's stored in the Keychain. I just created a new encrypted disk image called Test. The second time I opened it, I ticked the save password box and searched for it in Passwords, not found. But it shows up in Keychain Access:

However, with the advent of the Passwords app, Apple has 'helpfully' removed the Keychain Access from its former home in Applications > Utilities. It's still part of macOS, but buried in [your internal drive] > System > Library > CoreServices > Applications or just use a Spotlight or Finder search for "Keychain Access". When you launch it, you'll be prompted to open the Passwords app instead but you can choose Keychain Access.

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Answer 2

Limnos Author

Level 10

423,947 points

Aug 28, 2025 08:07 AM in response to neuroanatomist

I just checked the Passwords application which I have never used and had to set up. It has 3 passwords in it (maybe from using my browser?) but not for that image. I wouldn't have checked that box if it was offered.

I see in Disk Utility there is still an option to set up an encrypted sparse image, so that suggests it is a still supported feature.

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Answer 3

Limnos Author

Level 10

423,947 points

Aug 28, 2025 11:16 AM in response to neuroanatomist

Great, neuroanatomist! That led me to the solution. I must have accidentally clicked on the "keep in keychain" when entering the password at some stage. Using your useful information I found Keychain Access (now added copies of all those hidden utilities to a folder in my normal Applications) folder and an entry with the name of my sparse image file in the Local Items > Passwords tab. I made a backup of my image contents in a normal folder (just in case), deleted the entry, and then tried to open the image again. This time it asked for the password.

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Answer 4

Aug 28, 2025 08:02 AM in response to Limnos

Encrypted disk images continue to require a password, as they always have.

Perhaps you ticked the box to save the password in your Keychain?

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Answer 5

Aug 28, 2025 12:37 PM in response to Limnos

Glad you got it sorted!

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