How to Remove Encryption Keys from Keychain Access

In DEVONthink, you can encrypt databases for particularly private or sensitive documents. When you open your encrypted database, you will be prompted to enter your encryption key. This macOS dialog has a small checkbox, which may be enabled by default: Remember password in keychain. So the next time you want to open the database, DEVONthink will automatically use the stored key from your keychain and won’t ask you to enter it. While this may be convenient, you may not want it for privacy reasons. Do this to remove your key from the keychain:

1. Close the database.
2. In the Finder, do a Spotlight search for Keychain and open the Keychain Access application. Do not open the Passwords application when prompted. You want to use Keychain Access. On modern versions of macOS, you will likely need to enter your administrative password as well.
3. Select the login section on the left.
4. Click the search field in the upper right and search for spars. This will show you stored encryption keys for disk images.
5. If you find the key for your database, select it, choose Edit > Delete, and confirm.
6. Quit Keychain Access.
7. Reopen your encrypted database and you should again be prompted for the encryption key to open it. Make sure you disable Remember password in keychain to avoid running into the same issue.

This also applies to DEVONthink’s revision-proof databases.

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