autoComplete=”off” failed; this keeps showing up :( What do I do?

Troubleshooting: Why is `autoComplete="off"` Not Working in Your Textarea?

If you’ve been trying to disable browser autocomplete on a <textarea> and find that it continues to suggest previous entries, you’re not alone. Many developers encounter this issue, especially since various browsers tend to ignore or override the autoComplete attribute in certain contexts. In this article, we’ll explore why this happens and provide effective strategies to ensure your form fields behave as intended.

Understanding the Challenge

Here’s an example of a typical <textarea> component where a developer has set autoComplete="off":

“`jsx

setCbInput(e.target.value)}<br /> onKeyDown={onCbKeyDown}<br /> rows={1}<br /> autoComplete=”off”<br /> autoCorrect=”off”<br /> spellCheck=”false”<br /> /><br /> “`</p> <p>Despite setting `autoComplete=”off”`, browsers like Chrome may still display autofill suggestions. The reasons for this include:</p> <p>– Browsers often ignore `autoComplete=”off”` for security and user experience reasons, especially in login or password fields.<br /> – The `autoComplete` attribute is not always respected depending on the context or how the field is implemented.<br /> – Legacy or browser-specific behaviors can interfere with the suppression of autofill suggestions.</p> <p>### Best Practices to Disable Autocomplete and Autofill</p> <p>While it’s challenging to guarantee that autofill suggestions are universally suppressed, combining the following strategies can significantly improve the chances:</p> <p>#### 1. Use Unique and Non-Standard `autocomplete` Values</p> <p>Instead of `”off”`, try setting `autocomplete` to a unique, random string or a value unlikely to trigger autofill:</p> <p>“`jsx<br /> autoComplete=”new-message”<br /> “`</p> <p>This approach hints to the browser that this input is a new, unpredictable field, discouraging autofill.</p> <p>#### 2. Set `name` and `id` Attributes Carefully</p> <p>Browsers sometimes identify autofill targets based on common names like “name,” “email,” or “password.” Use less common `name` and `id` attributes to prevent autofilling:</p> <p>“`jsx<br /> <textarea name="customMessageField12345" id="customMessageId67890" ... /><br /> “`</p> <p>#### 3. Use HTML Attributes and CSS Hacks</p> <p>You can also try adding the `autocomplete=”off</p> </div> <div style="height: 32px;" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <div class="wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <div class="taxonomy-category wp-block-post-terms"><a href="https://hubs.uk/category/webdev-2/" rel="tag">Website Development</a></div> <div style="height: 32px;" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <div class="wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <div class="is-style-post-author-card wp-block-post-author"><div class="wp-block-post-author__avatar"><img alt='' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/8c172b14468f5e0666e0f522b41c563bdd54c5e0771a788632cd23a99f78f945?s=96&d=mm&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/8c172b14468f5e0666e0f522b41c563bdd54c5e0771a788632cd23a99f78f945?s=192&d=mm&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-96 photo' height='96' width='96' decoding='async'/></div><div class="wp-block-post-author__content"><p class="wp-block-post-author__name">Hubsadmin</p><p class="wp-block-post-author__bio"></p></div></div> </div> <div style="height: 30px;" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <div class="wp-block-group post-navigation-link-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"> <div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow"> <div class="post-navigation-link-previous wp-block-post-navigation-link"><a href="https://hubs.uk/new-vs-old-i-upgraded-my-website-what-do-you-think/" rel="prev"><span class="post-navigation-link__label"><svg class="icon icon-prev" aria-hidden="true" role="img"> <use href="#icon-prev" xlink:href="#icon-prev"></use> </svg>Prev Post</span> <span class="post-navigation-link__title">NEW vs OLD – I Upgraded my Website, What Do You Think?</span></a></div> </div> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow"> <div class="post-navigation-link-next has-text-align-right wp-block-post-navigation-link"><a href="https://hubs.uk/is-anyone-here-actually-throwing-out-their-seo-playbooks-because-of-ai-search-or-are-you-just-adapting-them/" rel="next"><span class="post-navigation-link__label">Next Post<svg class="icon icon-next" aria-hidden="true" role="img"> <use href="#icon-next" xlink:href="#icon-next"></use> </svg></span> <span class="post-navigation-link__title">Is anyone here actually throwing out their SEO playbooks because of AI search? 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