How to Manage Startup Apps on the Mac

Undoubtedly one of the most annoying things we can suffer on Mac is that several applications open when we turn on our computer . This can be due to the fact that some applications such as Spotify enable by default the option to start when we turn on the Mac. These annoying unwanted application starts can be easily deactivated in the system preferences as we will explain in this article.

In the event that many applications are started by default when we turn on the Mac, it can end up significantly affecting the boot speed of the computer. That is why we must have enough eye when choosing this type of applications.

Mac

Manage startup applications in macOS

If you want to check all the applications that start by default when we start our session, you can easily do it from the system preferences. Simply follow these steps:

  1. Go to System Preferences from the Finder or Launchpad.
  2. In the second row, click on ‘Users and groups’.
  3. Choose your user on the left side and make sure you have the lock open on the bottom left. If not, you must click on it and enter your password.
  4. Once this is done we will go to the ‘Startup Items’ tab and we will get a list with all the applications that start by default on our Mac.
  5. Click on that app that you do not want to start and at the bottom click on ‘-‘.

iniciar aplicaciones predeterminadas mac

Although you may also want some applications that are useful for you to start by default, so you can also add apps. From this same window, by clicking on the ‘+’ icon at the bottom you can choose from the list of apps that you are interested in being active when you start the Mac.

Beware of Mac boot performance

But you should always keep in mind that if you notice that the boot slows down significantly it is because the Mac must start both the software and all these applications that you have chosen . If you want the best possible performance we recommend having this list completely empty and open the applications yourself.

There are some apps that are quite ‘catchy’ and sometimes they don’t finish disabling the default startup startup. Two of the clearest examples are without a doubt Steam and Spotify. We may not understand what is happening on our Mac when we start the system and these applications continue to start by default when they are not listed above. In these cases we must inquire about the preferences of each of the applications to block the automatic start.