Frank Gwirtz
Level 1 (4 points)
Photos for Mac

Q: Can "Photos" app be deleted?

The usual method of deleting an app, by dragging its icon from the Applications folder to the Trash, does not seem to work with photos. I want to remove it from my computer because it is constantly in my way when I'm working with images in other software. Any suggestions?

 

OSX 10.11

Photos v1.5

Mac mini (Late 2012), OS X El Capitan (10.11.5)

Posted on Sep 12, 2016 7:21 AM

by léonie,Solvedanswer
léonie léonie
Level 10 (106,958 points)
iCloud
A:

Photos for Mac cannot be deleted from an El Capitan system, because it is protected by El Capitan's System Integrity Protection.  If you disable this protection and remove Photos you might run into problems because other applications may rely on its presence. And with each update it will be back.

 

If the problem is that you frequently need to format your cards and the fix Larry provided will not suffice, disable all photo applications from launching at all:

 

A brute-force method to stop any application from launching at all when you insert a card  is a Terminal command:

 

This Terminal command will disable the auto start of any photo application, not just Photos. So Lightroom or any other application will not launch either and you will have to launch the application of your choice manually.

  • Quit Photos and disconnect any camera.
  • Open a Terminal and paste this command into it and hit return:

defaults -currentHost write com.apple.ImageCapture disableHotPlug -bool YES

defaults -currentHost write com.apple.Photos disableHotPlug -bool YES

  • Restart the Mac . it should not be necessary, but it only worked for me after restarting.  I found this fix in a post by JadedEye

Posted on Sep 12, 2016 7:54 AM

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Frank Gwirtz

Q: Can "Photos" app be deleted?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by LarryHN,

    LarryHN LarryHN Sep 12, 2016 7:43 AM in response to Frank Gwirtz
    Level 10 (84,646 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 12, 2016 7:43 AM in response to Frank Gwirtz

    You can not delete it as it is part of the OS

     

    You can sop it from opening automatically - while a photo device is connected in Photos uncheck the box to the right of the device that says to open Photos when this device is connected

     

    And report to Apple - they need to provide a system wide single way to allow you to work with the photo software of your choice  --  http://www.apple.com/feedback/photos.html

     

     

    LN

  • by léonie,Solvedanswer

    léonie léonie Sep 12, 2016 7:54 AM in response to Frank Gwirtz
    Level 10 (106,958 points)
    iCloud
    Sep 12, 2016 7:54 AM in response to Frank Gwirtz

    Photos for Mac cannot be deleted from an El Capitan system, because it is protected by El Capitan's System Integrity Protection.  If you disable this protection and remove Photos you might run into problems because other applications may rely on its presence. And with each update it will be back.

     

    If the problem is that you frequently need to format your cards and the fix Larry provided will not suffice, disable all photo applications from launching at all:

     

    A brute-force method to stop any application from launching at all when you insert a card  is a Terminal command:

     

    This Terminal command will disable the auto start of any photo application, not just Photos. So Lightroom or any other application will not launch either and you will have to launch the application of your choice manually.

    • Quit Photos and disconnect any camera.
    • Open a Terminal and paste this command into it and hit return:

    defaults -currentHost write com.apple.ImageCapture disableHotPlug -bool YES

    defaults -currentHost write com.apple.Photos disableHotPlug -bool YES

    • Restart the Mac . it should not be necessary, but it only worked for me after restarting.  I found this fix in a post by JadedEye

  • by Frank Gwirtz,

    Frank Gwirtz Frank Gwirtz Sep 14, 2016 7:37 AM in response to LarryHN
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 14, 2016 7:37 AM in response to LarryHN

    This does work—but must be done individually for each and every camera card you use. In a professional environment where there might be a dozen cameras in use—each with multiple memory cards—this is a royal pain! Oh, and BTW, when you reformat a memory card, Photos no longer recognizes it and launches as before. Disgusting.
    The only solution appears to be that suggested below by "léonie." Thanks.

  • by Frank Gwirtz,

    Frank Gwirtz Frank Gwirtz Sep 14, 2016 7:43 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 14, 2016 7:43 AM in response to léonie

    Thanks! This does work, even without a restart.