Update Configuration
Automatic updates can be configured using one of two methods: defining constants in wp-config.php, or adding filters using a Plugin.
Configuration via wp-config.php
Using wp-config.php, automatic updates can be disabled completely, and core updates can be disabled or configured based on update type.
Constant to Disable All Updates
The core developers made a conscious decision to enable automatic updates for minor releases and translation files out of the box. Going forward, this will be one of the best ways to guarantee your site stays up to date and secure and, as such, disabling these updates is strongly discouraged.
To completely disable all types of automatic updates, core or otherwise, add the following to your wp-config.php file:
define( 'AUTOMATIC_UPDATER_DISABLED', true );
1Plugin & Theme Updates via Filter
Automatic plugin and theme updates are disabled by default. To enable them, you can leverage the auto_update_$type filter, where $type would be replaced with "plugin" or "theme".
To enable automatic updates for plugins, use the following:
add_filter( 'auto_update_plugin', '__return_true' );
To enable automatic updates for themes, use the following:
add_filter( 'auto_update_theme', '__return_true' );