{"id":"privacy-safety.do-my-settings-move-to-a-new-mac","url":"/faq/privacy-safety/do-my-settings-move-to-a-new-mac","category":{"id":"privacy-safety","title":"Privacy & safety"},"subcategory":{"id":"accounts-and-credentials","title":"Accounts, passwords and keys"},"question":"Why do I have to re-enter my account details on a new Mac?","alt_questions":["My cloud accounts didn't come across to my new Mac","Can I copy Storage Studio's credentials to another Mac?","storage studio migrate settings new mac","Why can't another Mac read my saved passwords?","Migration Assistant and Storage Studio passwords"],"short_answer":"Your saved secrets and some private settings are encrypted so only the original Mac can read them. A copy on another computer is unreadable by design, so a new Mac asks you to enter them again.","answer_markdown":"Because your saved secrets and a few private settings are encrypted so that **only the Mac they were saved on** can read them. That's deliberate: a copy of the file on another computer — or in someone else's hands — is unreadable.\n\nReinstalling on the same Mac restores everything cleanly. On a different Mac, Storage Studio simply asks you to enter those details again.","answer_html":"

Because your saved secrets and a few private settings are encrypted so that only the Mac they were saved on can read them. That's deliberate: a copy of the file on another computer — or in someone else's hands — is unreadable.

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Reinstalling on the same Mac restores everything cleanly. On a different Mac, Storage Studio simply asks you to enter those details again.

","answer_text":"Because your saved secrets and a few private settings are encrypted so that only the Mac they were saved on can read them. That's deliberate: a copy of the file on another computer — or in someone else's hands — is unreadable.\n\nReinstalling on the same Mac restores everything cleanly. On a different Mac, Storage Studio simply asks you to enter those details again.","tags":["new mac","credentials","encryption"],"related":[{"id":"cloud-accounts.where-are-my-cloud-passwords-and-keys-stored","question":"Where does Storage Studio keep my cloud passwords and access keys?","url":"/faq/cloud-accounts/where-are-my-cloud-passwords-and-keys-stored"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"Why do I have to re-enter my account details on a new Mac? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"Your saved secrets and some private settings are encrypted so only the original Mac can read them. A copy on another computer is unreadable by design, so a new Mac asks you to enter them again.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"Privacy & safety","path":"/faq/privacy-safety/"},{"name":"Why do I have to re-enter my account details on a new Mac?","path":"/faq/privacy-safety/do-my-settings-move-to-a-new-mac"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/privacy-safety/do-my-settings-move-to-a-new-mac","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Why do I have to re-enter my account details on a new Mac?","alternateName":["My cloud accounts didn't come across to my new Mac","Can I copy Storage Studio's credentials to another Mac?","storage studio migrate settings new mac","Why can't another Mac read my saved passwords?","Migration Assistant and Storage Studio passwords"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Because your saved secrets and a few private settings are encrypted so that only the Mac they were saved on can read them. That's deliberate: a copy of the file on another computer — or in someone else's hands — is unreadable.\n\nReinstalling on the same Mac restores everything cleanly. On a different Mac, Storage Studio simply asks you to enter those details again.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/privacy-safety/do-my-settings-move-to-a-new-mac"}}]},"fragment":"
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Privacy & safety · Accounts, passwords and keys

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Why do I have to re-enter my account details on a new Mac?

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Short answer: Your saved secrets and some private settings are encrypted so only the original Mac can read them. A copy on another computer is unreadable by design, so a new Mac asks you to enter them again.

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Because your saved secrets and a few private settings are encrypted so that only the Mac they were saved on can read them. That's deliberate: a copy of the file on another computer — or in someone else's hands — is unreadable.

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Reinstalling on the same Mac restores everything cleanly. On a different Mac, Storage Studio simply asks you to enter those details again.

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Last reviewed

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