‘Background Items Added’ Mac Notifications: How-To Fix

Let’s be honest. We’re huge fans of Apple, but it doesn’t seem as though Apple is having the best of luck as of late when it comes to software. The company has had to push back the release of new features (i.e. Stage Manager), and there was a day-one bug with iOS 16 that forced Apple to push out an emergency update just for users to be able to activate their new iPhone 14 models.

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Unfortunately, the problems aren’t limited to the iPhone and iPad, as there are plenty of ongoing issues and frustrations to be found with macOS Ventura. On the surface, this didn’t seem like it was a major overhaul for Apple, but all you have to do is notice that System Preferences has been renamed to System Settings to know that isn’t the case.

At the time of this writing, Apple recently released the public version of macOS Ventura 13.2, which introduced compatibility with Security Keys for Apple ID. It also aimed to fix bugs and issues that users found when trying to see what Apple’s new Freeform app has to offer.

However, there is another bug that is continuing to plague Mac users, and it’s the dreaded ‘Background Items Added‘ notification that appears. Depending on the different apps and software that you install, you might need to enable the ability for the app to run in the background. This can apply to Menu Bar apps such as Bartender, or others such as Adobe’s Creative Cloud service.

The problem is when you end up installing an app that “does what it wants” and continues to run in the background even if you have removed its permissions. Some users have even gone so far as to delete the app entirely, only to find that the ‘Background Items Added’ notification continues to appear.

Remove Login Items and Turn Off Allow in the Background

On a more basic level, Apple has implemented the ability to fine-tune the apps that are allowed to run in the background, along with those that need/want to open when you login. This is your “first line of defense” in the event that you’re dealing with those annoying notifications. Here’s how you can remove login items and turn off the ability for apps to run in the background:

1. Open the System Settings app on your Mac.
2. Click General in the sidebar on the left.
3. On the right side of the window, click Login Items.
4. Under the Open at Login section, locate and select the app that you want to remove.
5. Click the – button in the bottom left corner of the list.
6. Under the Allow in the Background section, locate the app that you want to remove.
7. Click the toggle to the Off position.
8. Exit the System Settings app.
9. Restart your Mac.

After your Mac is finished restarting, you can follow the steps above again in an effort to make sure that the application causing a headache didn’t try to override the settings. However, chances are that if the app is still malfunctioning, you’ll see the ‘Background Items Added’ or ‘Login Items’ notification appear. If that’s the case, jump to the next section and follow the steps for another, slightly more-involved, way to stop the notifications from appearing.

‘Background Items Added’ Mac Notifications: How-To Fix

Because this issue is so widespread, and frankly, beyond frustrating, it’s been getting a lot of traction across different forums and social media platforms. And while Apple has failed to actually fix the problem, the fact that the ‘Background Items Added’ issue is so prevalent has made it so that other Mac users have been able to identify a fix. And here’s what you’ll need to do in order to try and stop these pesky and persistent notifications from appearing for certain apps.

1. Open the Finder app on your Mac.
2. In the Menu Bar, click Go.
3. From the drop-down menu, highlight and select Go To Folder…
4. Enter ~/Library/LaunchAgents and press Enter on your keyboard.
5. From the Finder window that appears, locate the .plist file associated with the ‘Background Items Added’ Mac notifications.
6. Move the file into the Trash.
7. Empty your Mac’s Trash bin.
8. Restart your Mac.

In the event that the steps above don’t solve the problem, you can follow the same series of steps, but enter ~/Library/LaunchDaemons from the Go To Folder step. Then, locate the appropriate .plist file, delete it, empty the Trash on your Mac, then restart your Mac.