Which MacOS (Sierra) Services are spy services/daemons from Apple?
Does anyone have a list of spy services/daemons (colloquially known as "junk")? I know this question could be interpreted as primarily opinion-based, but I'd like to keep this thing objective, so here are the parameters:
- Services are quantifiable:
sudo launchctl list
Defininition of spy services
Services that track
- browsing history
- location (I know Address Book or Maps needs to get the location when planning routes, but besides that?)
- installed applications
Feel free to specify things I have forgotten in the comments
Notes
It would be useful to know this list to remove them from the list of startup services/daemons.
e.g. launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchAgents/nameofagent.plist
Diagnostic and usage reporting services are controlled in System Preferences → Security & Privacy → Privacy → Diagnostics & Usage. Uncheck both boxes to disable reporting.
You would have been asked to opt-in to reporting when you first set up your computer. You are recommended to use the official switch in System Preferences to disable this reporting. There's a handy switch for you to use, unlike a certain other OS!
If you really want to manually disable the services…
launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.ReportCrash.plist
sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.ReportCrash.Root.plist
sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.DiagnosticReportCleanUp.plist
With regard to what is reported, full details can be found in that System Preferences pane:
If you opt-in to sending diagnostic and usage information to Apple, it may include the following information:
- Details about app or system crashes, freezes, or kernel panics
- Information about events on your Mac (for example, whether a certain function, such as waking your Mac, was successful or not)
- Usage information (for example, data about how you use Apple and third-party software, hardware, and services)
About Diagnostics & Privacy