How to Remove Startup Programs on Mac [Speed up your Mac] – 2024 Guide

If you don’t know this, then you should know; And if you knew about startup programs, then you must manage them to enhance your Mac’s performance. Be it Mac or Windows or mobile operating system Android all of them share a feature called Startup programs or apps in case of the mobile device. Startup programs are the cause of both boon and bane, more on that in next section. Before attempting to Remove Startup programs on Mac, first be cognizant of why it is a problem for your Mac. The Mac devices boast of being better in terms of battery backup, processing power, graphics and in other numerous features than its rivals.

You all would be like “Duh! that’s why we bought it, dude. What’s your point!!

Well, every computer (to be precise, computer hardware) has a fixed span of life i.e. in nerd language, it is a fixed number of cycles for any component of your computer. For instance, your laptop battery works well for around 500 charge cycles. Same goes for the hard disk on your Mac and for other components too. So use your resources wisely. Unnecessary startup programs use your  CPU cycles, drains your battery faster and hogs your precious RAM.

We are certain that most of the Mac users don’t know about startup programs until they know notice reduced battery life of the computer or God forbid their Mackbook hangs due to insufficient RAM or too many applications running. Startup programs actually make your boot time longer. In other words, it takes more time to start your Mac than it should because of startup programs. As always you are in the right place, in the next few sections we will debunk this problem in the easiest way possible and you will also find out that when used in a right way, Startup programs are boon and can make your life easier.

Look before you scroll!

Startup programs and Login Items are the programs (even files and folders) that start up automatically when a user starts or boots Mac. These items keep running in the background unless you explicitly stop them.

In the later Mac OS, the startup feature has gotten smarter it remembers the programs opened before shut down and it reopens them when you next start your Mac.

Some 3rd party apps cause the battery drainage and performance issues. Startups can cause also when you have a huge number of applications installed on your Macbook. One more scenario, when you want to check up on startup items when you have uninstalled some program but you see error messages related to that application every time you open your Macbook.These are caused due to broken links and can be managed through Startup items.

Remember that we have mentioned Startup programs as features and also called it a boon. Here’s why Mac OS is itself is a Startup Application and is running in the background. Another useful scenario, say you use Safari extensively and it is the reason why you opened your Mac, wouldn’t it be nice if it is loaded automatically everytime you start your device. They enhance the user experience to a great extent. Also, some apps need to be always running as long as the user is using the device like audio or graphics enhancer application.

*** Note: You must be sure about the applications that you are removing from Startup Items list as it may cause programs or even operating system malfunctioning. ***

Below handy methods are mentioned to manage Startup Items for removing and adding programs:

How to Remove Startup Program on Mac

To begin with this step you must be login to the user account on which you are going to remove startup programs. If you want to manage for another user, then you must have authorization (i.e username & password). We would recommend removing unnecessary 3rd party applications from the list.

1.  Go to ‘System Preferences’ and then click on ‘Users & Groups’.

2. A popup window will appear. On the left-hand side users list for your Mac will be displayed (by default it is the current user). If you want to manage another account, Click on the account and provide the credentials to switch user (account). Skip this step if you want to manage current user account.

3. Navigate to Login Items tab by clicking on Login Items.

4. In the Login Items tab, you will see a list of applications that are in Startup programs.  Carefully, select the programs you want to remove ( multiple items can be selected). Then, click on ‘ — ‘ minus sign below to remove items from the list.

This should remove the selected program from the Startup Item list. Next time when you start your Mac these programs won’t be running. Cheers!

How to Add Startup Items on Mac

Similar to removing items, first you should be login to the account in which Startup program is to be added. We would recommend investigating about the program before you are going to add it Startup program and also do not add too many programs in the Startup list as it may lead to the aforementioned scenario.

1.  Go to ‘System Preferences’ and then click on ‘Users & Groups’. Refer to Remove Startup Items (above section) for images.

2. A popup window will appear. On the left-hand side users list for your Mac will be displayed (by default it is the current user). If you want to manage another account, Click on the account and provide the credentials to switch user (account). Skip this step if you want to manage current user account.

3. In the Login Items tab, you will see a list of applications that are in Startup programs. Click on ‘ + ‘ plus sign below to add items from the list. A new window will be opened containing a list of programs.S elect the program and click on ‘Add’.

Startup list items will be running automatically when you start your computer next time.

Alternative through docker panel

Right click on the program that you want to add in Startup list. A menu will appear, click on ‘Options’.And then select ‘Open at Login’. So simple!

Conclusion

User Interface has changed and will change in the future, but above method to add and remove startup items from Login Items should not be changed. Do not get obsessed with Startup items and try to manage each and every program that runs in the background, this will mess up your Mac.

There are alternatives to this method but it requires operating system knowledge to proceed and can result in malfunction. Paid apps that will help you manage startup programs are available in the store, but we think you will not need them after this article. Honestly speaking, they’re just rip-offs.

Stay tuned for more on Mac!