Have you ever noticed that Typinator is not functioning normally and that the menu bar icon has changed to the "two-dot icon"?
This indicates that another application has enabled Secure Keyboard Entry, a macOS security feature that prevents other applications from monitoring your keystrokes. While Secure Keyboard Entry is active, Typinator can't detect what you type, so text expansion is temporarily unavailable.
Typinator can't override this macOS security feature, but it detects the situation and displays the two-dot icon to let you know why it isn't functioning normally.
Will restarting or reinstalling Typinator fix the problem?
No. Quitting, relaunching, or reinstalling Typinator will not resolve the issue because Secure Keyboard Entry is controlled by another application, not by Typinator itself.
How to identify the application causing Secure Input?
The application that enables Secure Keyboard Entry is also responsible for disabling it.
When Typinator detects that Secure Keyboard Entry is active, its menu bar icon changes to a two-dot icon. This indicates that another application is holding Secure Keyboard Entry.
To identify the application:
- Check the status menu. Click the two-dot icon in the menu bar. Near the top of the menu, Typinator displays the name of the application that is holding Secure Keyboard Entry.
- Open the explanation alert. Select the explanation item from the status menu to see a description of the situation. In most cases, the alert also includes a Switch to button that takes you directly to the responsible application.
If you need to release Secure Keyboard Entry, quit the identified application. If you're unsure whether you've found the correct one, close your open applications one at a time. After closing each application, wait a few seconds and watch Typinator's menu bar icon. When the icon returns to its normal appearance, you've found the application that had enabled Secure Keyboard Entry.
Note: Secure Keyboard Entry is a session-wide setting, so the application holding it may be running in the background. It doesn't have to be the application you're currently using.
Common causes of Secure Input entry
Password managers or Web browsers
Password manager extensions, such as 1Password, Bitwarden, or Dashlane, enable Secure Keyboard Entry whenever a password field is active—even if it's in a background tab or window.
If Typinator identifies a browser such as Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or Brave, switch to that browser and look for any open password dialogs or login forms. Closing or dismissing the password field usually releases Secure Keyboard Entry.
Lock screen (loginwindow)
If the two-dot icon appears after locking and unlocking your Mac, the macOS loginwindow process may have failed to disable Secure Keyboard Entry. This is a known macOS issue.
Typinator cannot clear this condition automatically. Restarting your Mac will resolve this issue.
Terminal
Terminal can keep Secure Keyboard Entry enabled if Edit > Secure Keyboard Entry is turned on.
To disable it, choose Edit > Secure Keyboard Entry in Terminal to remove the checkmark, or simply close the affected Terminal window.
Other applications
Any application that displays a password field or other sensitive input can enable Secure Keyboard Entry.
When possible, Typinator identifies the responsible application by name. If it cannot determine the exact application, the explanation alert describes the type of application that is most likely holding Secure Keyboard Entry.
If none of the above steps resolves the problem, restarting your Mac will clear Secure Keyboard Entry and restore normal operation.
What if Typinator can't identify the application?
Typinator can usually identify the application that's holding Secure Keyboard Entry. If it can't, it displays the frontmost application instead, which may not be the one actually causing the problem.
To identify the responsible application:
- Quit your open applications one at a time.
- After closing each application, wait a few seconds and watch Typinator's menu bar icon.
- When the icon returns to its normal appearance, you've found the application that was holding Secure Keyboard Entry.
If closing applications one by one doesn't resolve the issue, restart your Mac. Restarting clears Secure Keyboard Entry and restores Typinator to normal operation.
If the problem keeps recurring, note which applications were running before the two-dot icon appeared. This information can help you identify the cause or assist us in troubleshooting the issue.
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