Over time, as the number of Mac startup programs increases, your system’s speed will start to slow down. If you want to learn how to easily stop applications from opening on Mac startup, this article is for you. We will explain the easy ways to change startup programs on Mac and even how to remove startup programs completely. This brief guide will show you how to stop Spotify from opening up automatically when your PC (or Mac) starts up. With Spotify open, select Edit from the top menu and then Preferences from the drop-down list. Note: Mac users select Spotify from the Apple Menu and then Preferences from the drop-down list.
You might have noticed that some apps open and run automatically whenever you start your Windows PC or Mac. The behavior makes sense for apps from cloud storage services like OneDrive and Google Drive — you might want to keep all the files in sync with other platforms. However, other apps like Chrome, Spotify, Edge browser, etc., enable the 'Login/launch at startup' option by default, and mostly end up consuming resources at startup. Thankfully, there's a way to stop Spotify from opening at startup in macOS and Windows.
If you love music, then you probably won't mind it. However, it's odd that Spotify would want launch immediately after the OS boots — it's not a critical system app after all. The practice of forcing people to let an app launch at startup doesn’t make sense. Also, that behavior is active by default whenever you install the Spotify app.
In this post, we will guide you through several ways to disable Spotify's automatic startup on Windows and Mac. Let’s first talk about the common method that works on both Windows and macOS.
Spotify offers the ability to change the 'launch at startup' function from the app settings. The app is almost identical on both Windows and Mac. You can follow the steps below to access the option and change it.
Step 1: Open the Spotify app on Mac or Windows.
Step 2: You can select the drop-down beside the profile icon and go to Settings. Alternatively, you can also use Command +, keyboard shortcut on Mac to open Spotify Settings.
Step 3: Scroll down to the bottom and select Show Advanced Settings.
Step 4: The option will open several other Spotify options.
Step 5: Navigate to the 'Startup and Window Behavior' heading. You will find the ‘Open Spotify automatically after you log into the computer’ option. Click on the drop-down and change the behavior to No.
After that, Spotify won't load by itself whenever you start your computer. Spotify's Windows app also offers an option to minimize or close the app when you hit the close button. You can change that too if you like.
If Spotify still opens at startup on Mac, then check the next solution.
Apple allows you to access several options such as Quit, Force Quit, Show All Windows, keep in dock, etc., from the app icon on the dock. You can click on the app icon using a two-finger click or the right-click on the app icon (If you are using a mouse).
From the small floating menu, navigate to Options and disable/uncheck Open at Login.
Apple allows you to hide apps from opening automatically on startup. Here are the steps to hide them by using the Settings menu.
Step 1: Tap on the Apple icon at the upper left corner in the menu bar and go to System Preferences. Alternatively, you can use the Command + Space keys and search for System Preferences in it.
Step 2: From the System Preferences, navigate to Users & Groups. Click on the Login Items tab on the right pane.
Step 3: There, you will see the list of apps that open automatically when you log in. To make changes, you'll have to click on the Lock icon at the bottom-left corner and enter your admin password to proceed.
Step 4: If you find Spotify on the list then select the checkbox under the Hide menu to hide it. To remove it, select the ‘-‘ button at the bottom.
When you sign into your Windows account after the OS boots, the system loads some services in the background. You can disable them from the Windows Startup menu. Follow the steps below to remove Spotify from the startup on Windows.
Step 1: Press the Windows key and search for the Run menu. Alternatively, you can use the Windows + R keyboard shortcuts and access the Run menu.
Step 2: Type shell:startup and it will open the window which shows the services that run during the Windows startup.
Step 3: If you see Spotify listed there, then right-click on it and select delete from the contextual menu.
Step 1: Select the Windows button and search for Task Manager. Alternatively, you can right-click on the Windows button and select Task Manager from the menu that opens up.
Step 2: The Task Manager window shows several tabs — Processes, Performance, App History, Startup, Users, Details, and Services.
Step 3: Click on the Startup tab and search for Spotify from the list of apps.
Step 4: Right-click on it and select disable from the floating menu.
That should prevent Spotify from launching automatically whenever you boot Windows.
When apps pop open at startup randomly, it can slow down the loading process. That might make sense for certain apps, but not for music streaming apps like Spotify. Use the steps above to disable Spotify's automatic startup whenever you boot your Mac and Windows PC.
Next up:YouTube Music is also gaining support from users. Is it worth trying? Refer the comparison post below to learn in detail about YouTube Music and Spotify.
Oppo used to make portable media players before they ventured into the field of mobile phones.
(Updated on 11/6/2017)So, here’s a quick question: how long does it take for your Mac to start up? A minute? Two minutes? Five? Or just too long? One possible reason your Mac may be slow out of the blocks is that it’s trying to launch a slew of programs all at the same time.
Now, some of these programs might be actually be ones that you do want to launch automatically, such as the Safari web browser, or Apple Mail. But other, not-so-necessary programs may be piling up in your Mac’s “login items” list, too—ones that set themselves to launch automatically without asking first.
Another factor that may be slowing down your system is the Mac’s “Resume” feature, which re-opens any and all apps you had running when you shut down your Mac. That could lead to a crush of apps all trying to launch themselves at startup.
Last but not least, you may have specific programs on your Mac with “Launch at Startup” settings that you’ll need to find and disable.
Now, if you’re the patient type, waiting a little longer for your Mac to boot up so that your programs appear just as you left them might be a fair trade-off.
But if you’d rather shave a few seconds—or even minutes—off the time it takes for your Mac to settle down after hitting the power button, read on.
Your Mac launches a series of programs each and every time it starts up. Some of these programs are critical for the smooth operation of your system; others, not so much.
To see a list of all the programs your Mac opens automatically, click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen, select System Preferences, click the “User & Groups” icon (it’s under the “System” heading), pick a user (you, most likely), and finally click the “Login Items” tab.
You should now see a list of everything your Mac is launching (or trying to launch, anyway) whenever it starts up.
Some of the items will be easy to identify—in my case, I’ve got Dropbox and Google Drive (the handy file-sharing apps) listed, as well as something called an “Eye-Fi Helper” (an app that lets my Mac receive wireless images from my digital camera) and “AirPort Base Station Agent” (which keeps tabs on my AirPort Wi-Fi base station).
To delete these or other startup items from the list (but not from your Mac, mind you), just select them and click the “-” button at the bottom of the list.
Don’t get me wrong—”Resume” is one of the handiest Mac features, especially for those of us who like to pick up in Safari or the Calendar app right where we left off.
But if you don’t want Resume relentlessly re-launching all the apps you had open when you last shut down your Mac, you can stop it from doing so.
The next time you select Shut Down or Restart from the Apple menu, take a closer look at the window that pops up; in addition to the “Cancel” and “Shut Down” or “Restart” buttons, you’ll also see a checkbox labeled “Reopen windows when logging back in.”
Click the box to clear out the checkmark, and the only apps that’ll re-launch the next time your power on your Mac are those listed in the Login Items menu.
So, you emptied the “Login Items” list and turned off the Resume feature, but there’s still a program that’s launching itself at startup. What gives? Well, it could be that the stubborn program has its own “Launch at Startup” setting.
Open the program, make sure it’s the active app on your desktop (just click its window if it isn’t), then find its Preferences menu; generally speaking, you’ll find it under its main menu in the Mac menu bar (like “Spotify” in the case of Spotify).
Once you’ve opened the program’s Preferences menu, look around for a “Launch at Startup” setting. Spotify running apps. If there are lots of different Preferences categories, start with “General,” then try “Advanced.” (In Spotify’s case, I found a “Open Spotify automatically after you log into the computer” setting under its “Advanced” settings.)
Found the “Launch at Startup” (or the equivalent) setting? Go ahead and disable it, then rinse and repeat for any other programs that are still launching themselves when you turn on your Mac.