Google LLC Running in Background on Mac

I don't spend a lot of time in these forums, so I would appreciate any guidance regarding where and how I and others should be asking this question in these forums.

I do. That is the reason I explained asking a brand new question is the best way to elicit the individual attention you deserve. To do that, click the Ask the Community link above.

For more information and guidance on how best to use this site, read Find answers and ask questions in Apple Support Communities - Apple Support.

juanpitillo wrote:

How does one install/uninstall Google? I do not have any google apps but got the Google LLC notification (and background login item) as well.

You can see a list of software you installed with the System Information app: System Information User Guide for Mac - Apple Support.

Choose Software > Installations

One or more of Googles's many products or services will appear in that list, along with its installation date, which may have been a long time ago. macOS is only recently making its users aware of that fact; knowledge that seems to be causing people a great deal of anger.

Only you can know what you installed and the reason for installing it.

truth2307 wrote:

Do you understand what it means when someone actively installs software? Did the OP go off to google.com, download something then run the installer and agree to the terms&conditions? That’s called active installation and that’s clearly not what he did.

I am more than happy to assist anyone, but this Discussion has gone so far off the rails that it is unreasonable to devote personal attention to each and every reply.

The OP's concern was addressed weeks ago, and has presumably been answered to his or her satisfaction. If you would like help using your Mac, or you would like assistance with installing or uninstalling software, then by all means please post a new Discussion. To learn how to do that start by clicking the Ask the Community link above.

Issue with MacBook Reboot: "Google LLC" Login Screen

Hello,

I purchased a second-hand MacBook a few years ago and it has been working well. Recently, I attempted to reset the MacBook to its factory settings, but I encountered a problem. After rebooting, instead of the usual Apple logo, a login screen with "Google LLC" appears. As a result, I can't access macOS or any system preferences, and the device is essentially unusable.

From what I’ve gathered, it seems the previous owner might have set up Google MDM (Mobile Device Management). I’m seeking advice on how to resolve this issue.

What I’ve Tried:

• Multiple reboots
• Attempting to boot in safe mode
• Trying internet recovery mode

If anyone has experience with this issue or knows how to fix it, your help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I came here with the same questions. I installed Chrome 6 weeks ago on a new Mac. This "Google LLC" was not in my login items 6 weeks ago. I got a popup today that stated a new login item, "Google LLC" had been added. This is not an issue of a new notification for an existing item, this is an issue of Chrome installing something new in the background. There is also a thread over on Google support about this, and it seems this may have something to do with extensions or extension management.

Let me ask the question another way: is there a setting in MacOS Sonoma that allows me to control whether applications are allowed to:

1. Change system settings
2. Install new applications

I cannot seem to find specific permissions for this, and if they existed it might be helpful for controlling this behavior with Chrome and other apps.

I have found System Settings > Privacy & Security. The various settings in here don't have Chrome or Google or anything else relevant listed: "App Management", "Files and Folders", "Full Disk Access", "Automation", "Extensions", "Developer Tools".

Being a bit pedantic there but for the user profile directory I actually meant: -

/Users/[user profile name]/Library/LaunchAgents

And it absolutely does exist on MacOs, I'm looking at it right now.. (Sonoma 14.5). You won't see that directory using Finder because it's hidden but if you open terminal and navigate to it using: -

cd /Users/[user profile name]/Library/LaunchAgents

You'll see the directory exists and it's probably chock full of nasty Google .plist files just waiting to be deleted.

To be clear, the full list of directories to check are: -

• /Library/LaunchDaemons
• /LibraryLaunchAgents
• /Users/[User Profile Name]/Library/LaunchAgents

What exactly does "uninstall Google" mean? You can uninstall Chrome. You can uninstall Google Drive, Google Earth, etc.. But, as far as I know, there is no way to "uninstall Google".

Completely agree! Nothing should be installed without my thumbprint or password. I turned it off. And some other things that I wasn't aware of.

I just received a notification about this, and I see that I have Google LLC and Google Updater.

No idea how these got installed. I have never “installed Google,” whatever that means (how do I “uninstall Google”?). Never had Chrome on this machine. The only Google product installed that I am aware of is Google Earth Pro, and I don’t think I’ve launched it in many months.

My guess is that these must have been present since I installed Google Earth Pro in January, and an Apple update added the notification which only came up now.

It would be alarming if some other app or website installed these without my approval or awareness.

Anyway, I am disabling these in Login Items. Anyone know how to remove them altogether?

The only Google product I use is Google Earth Pro. I installed that almost a year ago. I guess that was enough to get these login items secretly installed just recently.

Actually, it comes as gift with any Google software you install, although it has absolutely no reason to be there AND you cannot turn it off from within the software itself.

So you do not have a Google account?

How is this relevant to the statement that he/she didn't install any Google software?

AuggieDog wrote:

When you say we installed "google", are you referring to google chrome?

You cannot install Google Chrome on a Mac without installing Google. The purpose of macOS's "Google LLC" Notification is to inform you that you decided to modify your Mac in that manner, perhaps a long time ago.

There is nothing new about Google's self-updating system modifications; Google has been doing that for years. Judging by the amount of recent interest in the subject, the notification is only now causing people to become aware of that fact.

Good, bad or indifferent ... vendor apps that install themselves without requesting permission and declaring why they are necessary and what they do are necessarily inherently evil. Remember: You are the product. If someone is selling access to your marketing profile or anything else about you ... you are the product.

I think we should propose that google's agent owes each of us, individually, 50% of the revenue obtained from the sale of our information <g> but that won't fly.

Complain. Loudly.