Is there any way to delete News app on Monterey?

[arisumego]

I’ve tried all the methods I could find. Does anyone have any idea how to do this? Can anyone also confirm whether or not deleting News will have any kind of negative effect on the OS as a whole?

EDIT: sorry for the typos, dictated this and posted without proofreading.

 

[chabig]

It hardly seems worth to me to delete an app you don't want to use. I'd just leave it. But if you want to try, I found these instructions. I cannot vouch for them, as the News app is installed in the sealed system volume, and I don't see how you could delete it without rendering the computer unbootable.

How to Uninstall Default Apple Apps on Mac | Nektony

In this article, we explain why default Apple programs are protected from being removed and how to uninstall them despite the protection.

nektony.com

 

[gilby101]

You can't delete any of the Apple apps included with macOS. Strictly, it is that you can't without going through some very tricky steps which need to be repeated on every macOS update - a very risky process.

What benefit are you hoping to gain by removing News?

Edit: Whilst I was typing @chabig gave you a link to the steps you need to take. But don't.

 

[arisumego]

You can't delete any of the Apple apps included with macOS. Strictly, it is that you can't without going through some very tricky steps which need to be repeated on every macOS update - a very risky process.

What benefit are you hoping to gain by removing News?

Edit: Whilst I was typing @chabig gave you a link to the steps you need to take. But don't.

I read in another thread on this forum that it does in fact constantly run in the background, and I like to run a lean system. And it’s the principle of the thing, really. It’s my computer, so if I want to get rid of first party ******** I will never use them that’s my prerogative, I suppose. Sorry if I sounded hostile there lol, I wasn’t trying to be. It’s just frustrating as I come from Windows where I can delete something relatively easily if I really want to.

I also read in that same thread that it’s not a critical/necessary application that the OS needs to operate. It’s also just an opportunity to learn more about macOS, since I don’t know much about it. I plan to delete the Home and Stocks app as well, maybe others.

“But don’t” what do you mean by this?

 

[bogdanw]

You can, here is how https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...tem-volume-as-writeable.2332937/post-30822017
Whether you should...that’s up to you. News will show up again after every update, so you will have to repeat the procedure.
To stop the News service https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ple-news-app-in-big-sur.2276327/post-30558596
On iOS, Apple allows disabling News with a profile.
“AllowNews - If false, disables News. Requires a supervised device. Available in iOS 9 and later.”
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/devicemanagement/restrictions
Try suggesting them to do the same for macOS https://www.apple.com/feedback/apple-news.html
Monterey virtual machine with some default apps removed

 

[svenmany]

You might already know this, but what you see in /Applications in Finder is not the /Applications directory in any filesystem; it is actually a mix of the contents of two directories: /System/Applications and /System/Volumes/Data/Applications. The first is on the read-only system volume. The second is on the writeable volume that users are intended to modify. All of the Apple applications are in the first one.

If you list /Applications in Terminal you'll only see the writeable directory. There is a "firmlink" that ties /Applications on disk to /System/Volumes/Data/Applications. But that might not be worth explaining.

 

[bogdanw]

Terminal proof

 

[Technerd108]

Windows has several apps you can't uninstall, xbox, messages, and several others. No matter the device there are always some apps you can't remove. It sucks! I agree we should be able to uninstall any and all apps we choose to do so. I imagine it has to do with users that are not computer savvy. They want apps installed as soon as they use the new device. So I understand why companies do this plus some apps like browser are pretty important to have by default.

 

[Fishrrman]

I don't think you can delete the "News" app -- it's probably "protected" from deletion as part of the System volume.

If you don't want to use it, just ignore it.
If it's in the dock and you don't want to see it, just delete its icon from the dock.

And then... get on with life.

 

[gilby101]

“But don’t” what do you mean by this?

The steps required to remove News a) make you system more unstable, b) remove some malware protections, and c) require repeating with every system update.

Can anyone also confirm whether or not deleting News will have any kind of negative effect on the OS as a whole?

Yes it will - see my reasons for saying "don't".

I also read in that same thread that it’s not a critical/necessary application that the OS needs to operate.

I am sure that is true. The only purpose (that I can see) in the News app having two processes all the time is to populate the graphic in Notification's Edit Widgets. The Stocks app does the same thing. Without that, the edit widgets graphics would be less visually appealing.

Note that whilst the processes are present all the time, they are mostly inactive. They do, of course, consume a small amount of RAM.

I find the News and Stocks widgets most annoying! No doubt others find them useful.

As Fisherman says:

If you don't want to use it, just ignore it.
If it's in the dock and you don't want to see it, just delete its icon from the dock.
And then... get on with life.

And get on with exploring macOS in other ways.

 

[SaraP]

Apple doesn't allow removing default apps. Even if disable SIP and remove it, once you enable SIP, the system will automatically recover the app.

 

[BrianBaughn]

I had a service call a few years back where it turned out the user had deleted some of the Apple applications he didn't "need".

The News app is definitely bloatware! However…on my Monterey Mac…dropping it into AppCleaner shows 27 files taking up only 270MB. Activity Monitor reports "newsd" is using 0.0% CPU. I do not have "News" checked in iCloud settings.

 

[Azurlake]

Well just as always lots of people saying why we shouldn't do things like we were stupid, instead of trying to help. Anyway it turns out my Monterey 12.4 Mac just crashed and when I restarted it, the report file pointed to this culprit: a process named "NewsToday2", running the Apple News application which I hadn't even open once. So there's your reason why we want to, and should be able to completely remove this bloatware. It's not only that I don't need it, it's that it just crashed my freakin' system and I don't even use it - not to mention I'm not in the USA and it was not even present in the Launchpad, so I had to change my region to the USA just to make sure it was installed. It is running in the background and I just don't want it - happy now? Or you want the crash report?

 

[Bazza1]

You can delete all of the iWorks Suite, choose not to install GarageBand - but you can't simply uninstall the News App. Largely, one suspects, it's because it's a potential money-spinner for Apple and those they contracted to provide their services on it. It's certainly not required software for the stability of the OS.

Its hardly the only app you can't install embedded in MacOS - most of them grandfathered in from the earliest days of the OS and rarely used (like much of the Utilities Folder and Chess) - but they don't seem to engender the same hate-on as News. Such obvious money-spinning bloatware (also see iTunes / Music / TV) will become more commonplace as the MacOS is meant to ape / sync with iOS.

I wait for the day when an ad for an Apple product runs before Safari opens....

 

[svenmany]

Well just as always lots of people saying why we shouldn't do things like we were stupid, instead of trying to help. Anyway it turns out my Monterey 12.4 Mac just crashed and when I restarted it, the report file pointed to this culprit: a process named "NewsToday2", running the Apple News application which I hadn't even open once. So there's your reason why we want to, and should be able to completely remove this bloatware. It's not only that I don't need it, it's that it just crashed my freakin' system and I don't even use it - not to mention I'm not in the USA and it was not even present in the Launchpad, so I had to change my region to the USA just to make sure it was installed. It is running in the background and I just don't want it - happy now? Or you want the crash report?

When someone explains that News can't be removed, they are trying to help.

Are you asking for help with your crash? I suppose the crash report could be useful. If you have repeated crashes, then Apple support could help and might want the crash reports.

 

[usagora]

And it’s the principle of the thing, really. It’s my computer, so if I want to get rid of first party ******** I will never use them that’s my prerogative, I suppose.

Except we're not talking about the computer (the hardware), but the operating system (the software). It's not your software; it's Apple's. They are simply licensing it to you subject to the terms of the licensing agreement.

 

[Azurlake]

When someone explains that News can't be removed, they are trying to help.

Are you asking for help with your crash? I suppose the crash report could be useful. If you have repeated crashes, then Apple support could help and might want the crash reports.

Well I don't mean your specific case but, don't get me wrong, the OP is not asking "should I (...)", but rather "how (...)?". Impossible as in "not doable at all" it is not, but I can say it is a pain. What I ended up doing yesterday is disabling the service, which you can do with ```launchctl```, together with a bunch of other services. Let's see if Apple doesn't decide to turn it on again unilaterally.

 

[Allyance]

I think you are wanting complete control over your computer, that is not realistic. Apple has enormous resources and has a fairly tightly knit operating system. Many applications are intertwined with other apps and I am sure share some common files. Trying to outsmart Apple could easily make your system inoperable.

 

[svenmany]

Well I don't mean your specific case but, don't take me wrong, the OP is not asking "should I (...)", but rather "how (...)?". Impossible as in "not doable at all" it is not, but I can say it is a pain. What I ended up doing yesterday is disabling the service, which you can do with ```launchctl```, together with a bunch of other services. Let's see if Apple doesn't decide to turn it on again unilaterally.

That's an excellent solution and a great alternative to deleting the application.

I believe disabled services are recorded by user under /private/var/db/com.apple.xpc.launchd/disabled.<userId>.plist. Everything under /private is on the data volume and is writeable. I'm pretty sure Apple will not touch such files.

 

[bogdanw]

I believe disabled services are recorded by user under /private/var/db/com.apple.xpc.launchd/disabled.<userId>.plist. Everything under /private is on the data volume and is writeable. I'm pretty sure Apple will not touch such files.

SIP needs to be disabled, otherwise services might turn on again.
https://gist.github.com/b0gdanw/40d000342dd1ba4d892ad0bdf03ae6ea

 

[Heindijs]

Is the news app still installed when you live in a region where the service doesn’t exist? Over here in the Netherlands there is no news app in both macOS and iOS so I wonder if it actually is installed or just disabled.

 

[bogdanw]

Is the news app still installed when you live in a region where the service doesn’t exist? Over here in the Netherlands there is no news app in both macOS and iOS so I wonder if it actually is installed or just disabled.

It is installed and hidden, run ls /System/Applications/ in Terminal to see a list of preinstalled apps.

 

[usagora]

Well I don't mean your specific case but, don't get me wrong, the OP is not asking "should I (...)", but rather "how (...)?".

And people told him how and also told him it wasn't worth the hassle and/or potential risk. I agree with them. I've never bothered removing these apps on any Mac I've owned and they all run just fine.

 

[svenmany]

SIP needs to be disabled, otherwise services might turn on again.
https://gist.github.com/b0gdanw/40d000342dd1ba4d892ad0bdf03ae6ea

I guess I'm only referring to agents, not the daemons. Do agents get turned on again?

 

[svenmany]

I guess I'm only referring to agents, not the daemons. Do agents get turned on again?

I tested with the news agent. It did re-enable itself after reboot; the entry in disabled.<userId>.plist was removed. Also, trying to stop the newsd agent resulted in a SIP error. I hadn't realized that the scope of SIP was so large.

The only takeaway for me is that I'm happy I enjoy the news.