You’re typing an email on your Mac, and autocorrect keeps “fixing” words that were perfectly fine — turning names into nonsense and technical terms into gibberish. macOS’s automatic spelling correction is helpful right up until it isn’t. When it starts getting in the way, here’s how to turn it off for good.
Where the autocorrect setting lives
On current macOS versions, automatic spelling correction is controlled in System Settings rather than in each app. The toggle sits at System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit, where you’ll find Correct spelling automatically. Switch it off and autocorrect stops rewriting your words system-wide — in Mail, Notes, Safari, and everywhere else. Apple documents the setting on its Input Sources settings support page.
(On older macOS releases the path was System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources → Edit. If you don’t see “Text Input,” look for “Input Sources” instead — the toggle has the same name.)
Turn off autocorrect, step by step
Step 1: Open System Settings
Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen and choose System Settings. (If you can never find anything in there, our guide to quickly opening the installed apps list in macOS 26 will speed up your navigation in general.)
Step 2: Go to Keyboard → Text Input → Edit
In the System Settings sidebar, click Keyboard. Next to Text Input — or Input Sources on older macOS — click the Edit button.
Step 3: Turn off “Correct spelling automatically”
In the sheet that appears, switch off Correct spelling automatically. That’s it — autocorrect is now disabled across the whole Mac. Apple’s typing suggestions support page explains the related options, and Macworld has a broader guide to disabling autocorrect on Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
Step 4: Check per-app overrides (optional)
Most apps follow the system setting, but a few have their own spelling options under Edit → Spelling and Grammar in the menu bar. If autocorrect persists in one specific app, check there too. And if you type in multiple languages, macOS lets you change the language for a single app without affecting the rest of the system.
If it still doesn’t work
- Restart the app. Some apps only pick up the new setting when relaunched.
- Check the app’s own menu. Look under Edit → Spelling and Grammar for an app-level “Correct Spelling Automatically” checkbox.
- Verify you’re in the right pane. On newer macOS it’s Keyboard → Text Input → Edit; on older releases, Keyboard → Input Sources → Edit.
- Still getting “helpful” changes? That’s predictive text, a separate feature — switch off “Show inline predictive text” in the same Text Input sheet.
While you’re taming interruptions, you may also want to mute Mail notifications for specific contacts in macOS.
Frequently asked questions
Does turning off autocorrect also turn off spellcheck?
No. “Correct spelling automatically” only controls whether macOS changes your words as you type. The red-underline spellcheck is a separate option you can leave on — typos will still be flagged, they just won’t be auto-replaced.
Can I turn autocorrect off for just one app?
Yes. The system toggle is global, but most apps let you override it via Edit → Spelling and Grammar in the menu bar. Uncheck “Correct Spelling Automatically” there for per-app control.
The bottom line
When autocorrect starts rewriting your words, take back control: System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit, and switch off “Correct spelling automatically.” One toggle, and your Mac stops second-guessing everything you type.
