By Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge
When you boot up your Mac, you’ve probably noticed that a number of apps and tools are loading themselves into memory along with the operating system. There are advantages to this — it ensures that your files always stay in sync with the cloud and that certain plug-ins are always available. But there’s value in keeping a balance: having too many programs start up with macOS can be a drag on your system.
Not only does it mean your Mac takes longer to get started and ready for use, but auto-starting apps can use up valuable memory space and processor time. It’s important to be selective about what can launch with macOS and what can’t.
You can control this by using tools and options built into macOS itself — no third-party software…