When you authorize your Mac or PC, you give it permission to access your music, movies, and other content.
You’ve probably heard “Remove your cache” as a web browser troubleshooting tip.
- You can authorize up to 5 computers, which means that you can play your content on 5 different computers.
- You can't authorize a computer from another computer or from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
- The best way to restore your Mac to factory settings is to erase your hard drive and reinstall macOS. After macOS installation is complete, the Mac restarts to a setup assistant that asks you to choose a country or region. To leave the Mac in an out-of-box state, don't continue setup. Instead, press Command-Q to shut down the Mac.
- Install in the typical Mac fashion, by dragging the icon to your Applications folder. Close the application you want to reset (we’ll use Twitter as an example), then open AppCleaner. Click the button at top-right to see your list of installed applications. Find the program you want to delete settings for, by searching or scrolling.
Before you sell or give away your computer or send it in for service, deauthorize your computer to remove its access to protected purchases. For other devices, learn how to see where you’re signed in or remove devices.
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How to authorize a Mac or PC
Before you authorize a Mac, update it to the latest version of macOS. On a PC, update to the latest version of iTunes for Windows.
- On a Mac, open the Music app, Apple TV app, or Apple Books app. On a PC, open iTunes for Windows.
- Sign in with your Apple ID.
- In the menu bar on your Mac or PC, choose Account > Authorizations > Authorize This Computer.
If you're asked to authorize your computer again, it won't use a new authorization. Apple ID uses the same authorization for the same computer.
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See your authorized computers
To automatically sign in to your Account Information page from your computer, click here. Or follow these steps:
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Apple Computer Clear Cache
- On a Mac, open the Music app, Apple TV app, or Apple Books app. On a PC, open iTunes for Windows.
- Sign in with your Apple ID.
- In the menu bar on your Mac or PC, choose Account > View My Account.
- Sign in with your Apple ID.
- On the Account Information page, scroll to the Apple ID Summary section. You'll see the number of computers that you've authorized with your Apple ID. You can’t see the names of those computers. If you haven't authorized 2 or more computers, you won't see this section.
If the number of authorized computers listed is more than what you expect, you might not have deauthorized the computers that you no longer use, gave away, or sold. You need to deauthorize all of your computers and then authorize each one that you still use.
Deauthorize a computer
- On a Mac, open the Music app, Apple TV app, or Apple Books app. On a PC, open iTunes for Windows.
- From the menu bar at the top of your computer screen, choose Account > Authorizations > Deauthorize This Computer.
- Sign in with your Apple ID.
- Choose Deauthorize.
If you run out of authorizations, deauthorize all
If one of your 5 authorizations is on a computer that you don't use anymore, deauthorize it. If you sold or gave away a computer that's used one of your 5 authorizations, you need to choose Deauthorize All on the Account Information page. Then authorize each computer that you still use.
About authorizing other Apple devices
You don’t need to authorize your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or other Apple device. These devices don’t use your available authorizations. Learn how to check your Apple ID device list to see where you're signed in and how to remove a device.
Apple Clean Computer Screen
Get help
Apple Clear Computers
- Learn what to do if your computer keeps asking you to authorize when you try to play your content.
- You can deauthorize all computers once per year.
- If you don't see Account in the menu bar at the top of your computer screen or the top of the Music app or iTunes window, check your Restrictions. You might have access to the iTunes Store turned off.
Apple Computers Desktop
Store availability and features might vary by country or region.