macOS: Which Apps do you let run continuously in background?

[learjet]

A question about macOS background app behavior: Which macOS apps run continuously in the background on your machine to receive notifications or enable syncing?

Here are a few candidates I’ve identified. Please correct me if I’m wrong and if you can actually quit them using Cmd+Q:

• The native WhatsApp macOS desktop app, to receive notifications (badge symbols or banner notifications).
• macOS Mail.app, to receive new mail notifications.
• Notes.app, to reliably sync (it does not seem to sync in the background when closed).
• The native Telegram macOS desktop app.

Doesn’t macOS have a push notification service similar to iOS, allowing apps to send notifications even when they’re closed? Messages.app (for SMS or iMessage notifications) and FaceTime.app (for iOS call integration) seem to work exactly like that—you don’t need to keep them running continuously.

 

[ProQuiz]

Mail and WhatsApp.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Apple Mail, Weather, AlDente, Tailscale, JumpDesktop, Screens 5, Carbon Copy Cloner, and TimeMachine.

 

[Pecka]

Messages, Mail, Terminal and Activity Monitor.

 

[learjet]

Messages, Mail, Terminal and Activity Monitor.

Messages.app doesn't actually need to be open to recieve new messages and notifications?

 

[chabig]

Messages.app doesn't actually need to be open to recieve new messages and notifications?

No app needs to be open to receive notifications. Notifications are handled outside of the app.

Edit, I think the above isn’t entirely correct. I thought Mac apps used a notification system like iOS, but now I’m not sure. I think some apps do need to be running to receive notifications. However, I wouldn’t worry about letting them run. macOS, unlike iOS, is designed to handle this while iOS is designed as a more constrained environment.