Does Ventura still require Adobe Acrobat Reader DC in the Background?

There has never been any such requirement. Not even while Ventura was in beta. Think about it; why would Apple write their own OS to require a third party app to operate? Answer: They never would, and never will.

stefanmikhail wrote:

I know when Ventura was first released it was required to have Adobe Acrobat Reader DC running in the Background: I'm trying to slim down that which is running in background and wonder if I can now safely turn this off?

Phrasing here is unclear...

Based on the following link, what you are probably referring to here is not a dependency on Adobe Acrobat Reader DC by macOS—macOS is not dependent on Adobe—but rather you are referring to an Adobe issue with changes that Apple made with macOS 13:

https://helpx.adobe.com/ca/acrobat/kb/background-processes-macos-ventura.html

Apple shuffled app startup pretty heavily with Ventura, and app developers have been working to address the changes in their apps.

For the current recommendations for and current status of Adobe apps, update both macOS and Adobe apps, and then check with Adobe.

Ventura never required any software by Adobe, background or otherwise.

If you mean that Reader didn't work unless it was running in the background, I can't speak to that. But, turn it off and see if it still works. If it does, great. If not, re-enable. Or, use a different PDF reader.

dialabrain wrote:

I posted a screen shot of what happens if you removed Acrobat Reader from "Allow in the Background" in System Settings > General > Login items, then tried to check for updates...

Odd that Adobe isn't using something at least as capable as Sparkle. Ah, well. They have their reasons.

stefanmikhail wrote:

I know when Ventura was first released it was required to have Adobe Acrobat Reader DC running in the Background: I'm trying to slim down that which is running in background and wonder if I can now safely turn this off?

Turn it off and report back...(?)

I know of no issue here.

The current stable release of Ventura including bug fixes, security updates is macOS Ventura 13.4

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support

If you want "Check for Updates…" to function it has to be enabled.

I posted a screen shot of what happens if you removed Acrobat Reader from "Allow in the Background" in System Settings > General > Login items, then tried to check for updates. Here it is once more…

I haven't checked to see what happens if you disable 'Allow In Background' with other apps. And yes, I suppose Adobe has their reasons.