How to Remove Login Items on Mac

How to remove login items

These steps follow Apple’s guide Open items automatically when you log in on Mac.

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings.
2. Click General in the sidebar.
3. Click Login Items & Extensions (on Sonoma, Login Items). You may need to scroll down.
4. Under Open at Login, select the item you want to stop.
5. Click the Remove button (minus sign) below the list.

The app stays installed. It just no longer opens when you log in. If an item has a yellow warning triangle, Apple’s guide says it won’t open because it was moved or deleted, so removing it is safe.

Some apps also have their own “Open at login” or “Launch at startup” checkbox in their settings. If an item keeps coming back, switch it off there too.

How to turn off background items

1. Open the same pane: System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions.
2. Scroll to Allow in the Background (Sonoma and Sequoia) or App Background Activity (Tahoe and macOS 27).
3. Turn off the switch next to the app.

Expect the app to lose whatever that helper did. Turn off a cloud storage helper and files may stop syncing. Turn off an updater and you’ll have to check for updates yourself. Leave security, backup, VPN and hardware driver items on unless you are removing that software.

To remove a background item completely, uninstall the app it belongs to. Our guide on how to uninstall apps on Mac covers removing an app along with its leftover files.

The notification when an app adds a background item

macOS tells you when an app adds a login or background item, and points you to System Settings to review it. Apple’s platform deployment guide describes this notification for managed Macs, where it says the items “can be viewed in System Settings”.

You’ll typically see it right after installing or updating an app. If you just installed something from a developer you trust, it’s expected. If you didn’t install anything, open Login Items settings and look for an item you don’t recognise.

LaunchAgents and LaunchDaemons folders

Many background items are defined by small property list (.plist) files in three folders. The launchd.plist man page (run man launchd.plist in Terminal) describes them:

• ~/Library/LaunchAgents: “Per-user agents provided by the user”. These run only for you.
• /Library/LaunchAgents: “Per-user agents provided by the administrator”. These run for every user who logs in.
• /Library/LaunchDaemons: “System-wide daemons provided by the administrator”. These run as the system, even before anyone logs in.

There are matching folders under /System/Library. Those belong to macOS: never change or delete anything there.

To list what’s in the three folders, run:

ls ~/Library/LaunchAgents /Library/LaunchAgents /Library/LaunchDaemons

Why you shouldn’t delete the plist files

It’s tempting to drag every unfamiliar file to the Trash. Don’t:

• The app may put it back. Many apps reinstall their helper the next time they open.
• It can break things you rely on. Security tools, backup software, VPNs, disk format drivers and audio or input-device drivers often depend on a daemon. Removing its plist can stop that software working.
• The program keeps running. Deleting the file doesn’t stop a job that is already loaded. It stops at your next logout or restart.
• Files in /Library need an administrator password to change, which is a sign they matter to more than one app.

The safer order is: turn the item off in System Settings, or uninstall the app it belongs to. Only remove a plist by hand when the app is already gone and the file is clearly left over.

How to check an item you don’t recognise

Most plist files are named in reverse-domain style, such as com.google.keystone.agent.plist. The second part (google) usually names the company. If that’s not enough:

1. See which program it starts. Run plutil -p with the file’s path, for example:

plutil -p ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.example.agent.plist

Look for the Program or ProgramArguments line. That’s the file it runs.

2. Check who signed that program. Run codesign -dv --verbose=2 followed by the program’s path. The Authority and TeamIdentifier lines show the developer. An unsigned program returns “code object is not signed at all”.

3. Check whether the program still exists. If the path in the plist points to an app you deleted, the plist is a leftover.

4. For a full list of everything macOS manages as a login or background item, Apple’s deployment guide documents sfltool dumpbtm, which “Prints the current status of login and background items”. It reports and changes nothing.

If an item has a random-looking name, no signature and points to a hidden folder in your home folder, treat it as suspicious and run a scan for adware before deleting anything.

Login items slow your Mac mostly at login. For a slow Mac with a nearly full disk, also see how to free up space on Mac.

The faster way: MacWipe

MacWipe’s Startup Items tool (under Apps) reads the three LaunchAgents and LaunchDaemons folders and shows each item as a card. Each card says whether it runs in the background or for all users, and whether it restarts if it quits. Expand a card to see its identifier, the program it starts and the plist file. If that program is no longer on your Mac, MacWipe says so. On macOS 26 Tahoe or later with Apple Intelligence on, it adds a plain-words verdict, and items from security, backup, sync and driver vendors are never marked “turn off”. You can switch your own agents off or move them to the Trash. System items open in Finder, and Apple’s are left alone. Protection checks your LaunchAgents against known adware. Download MacWipe.

FAQ

How do I remove login items on a Mac?

Go to System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions, select the item under Open at Login and click the minus button. On Sonoma the pane is called Login Items.

Where are login items on macOS Sequoia?

In System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions. Apps that run in the background are in the Allow in the Background section of the same pane.

What does “Allow in the Background” mean on Mac?

It lets an app run tasks when it isn’t open, such as checking for updates or syncing data. On macOS Tahoe and macOS 27 the section is called App Background Activity.

Is it safe to turn off background items?

Usually, for updaters and helpers of apps you rarely use. Keep security, backup, sync and driver items on, because turning them off stops those features working.