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How to stop random apps opening when powering on my Mac?

how can i stop random apps opening when i power on my mac? it gets annoying, example: when i power on my mac the first app that pops up is chrome


[Edited by Moderator]

MacBook Air 11″, macOS 13.0

Posted on Dec 11, 2022 5:20 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 12, 2022 4:47 PM

You need to make two changes to stop the OS from trying to behave like an iPad or iPhone.


Open the System Preferences (System Settings in Ventura). Under the General settings, make sure the check boxes are on for both of these choices:


Ask to keep changes when closing documents

Close windows when quitting an application


The second step is the choose Restart or Shut Down from the Apple menu. In the popup that appears, uncheck the box for, Reopen windows when logging back in.


You can click Cancel after unchecking the box. The OS will still remember your choice.


Now when you startup or restart your Mac, it will not launch any apps that were previously open when you shut down or restarted.


If Chrome is still launching after this, then that would very likely be because it's listed as one of the Login Items under your account name in System Preferences/Settings.

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 12, 2022 4:47 PM in response to vxjoseph

You need to make two changes to stop the OS from trying to behave like an iPad or iPhone.


Open the System Preferences (System Settings in Ventura). Under the General settings, make sure the check boxes are on for both of these choices:


Ask to keep changes when closing documents

Close windows when quitting an application


The second step is the choose Restart or Shut Down from the Apple menu. In the popup that appears, uncheck the box for, Reopen windows when logging back in.


You can click Cancel after unchecking the box. The OS will still remember your choice.


Now when you startup or restart your Mac, it will not launch any apps that were previously open when you shut down or restarted.


If Chrome is still launching after this, then that would very likely be because it's listed as one of the Login Items under your account name in System Preferences/Settings.

How to stop random apps opening when powering on my Mac?

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