Removing or hiding Beta Updates section in macOS System Settings

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Level 1

4 points

Removing or hiding Beta Updates section in macOS System Settings

Hey everyone,

I'm trying to figure out if there is any way to completely remove or hide the Beta Updates section under System Settings > General > Software Update.

Right now, it just shows as "Off," but having this extra row visible in the menu is really bothersome to look at, and I want a clean interface.

Here is what I have already tried:

Unenrolled my Apple ID from the Apple Beta Software Program at beta.apple.com.
Ran terminal commands (seedutil unenroll and deleting cached .SeedEnrollment.plist / .BetaEnrollmentData.plist files).
Signed out of my Apple Account, restarted, and signed back in.

The row still remains showing "Off."

I know installing an MDM Configuration Profile (AllowPreReleaseInstallation = false) can hide it, but installing a profile adds a permanent "Profiles" menu entry to System Settings, which I also don't want.

Is there any other terminal command, defaults write tweak, or hidden setting in modern macOS to completely remove this row without triggering the Profiles section? Or is this just hardcoded into macOS now?

I must want to remove this because it is very annoying to my mind so please help me

Thanks for any help or insight!

[Edited by Moderator]

MacBook Air (M5, 2026)

Posted on Sep 1, 2026 10:28 PM

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Answer 1

Owl-53

Level 10

114,495 points

Sep 2, 2026 1:22 AM in response to ranuga28

The safest conclusion is that Apple documents how to turn off beta updates, but it does not currently document a user-level Terminal command or defaults setting specifically for removing the Beta Updates row from System Settings.

Apple's documentation describes Beta Updates under System Settings >> General >> Software Update and explains that the setting can be turned off. (Apple Support)

Apple: Software Update settings on Mac

Apple also documents management methods for preventing beta software from being installed on managed devices.

Those methods are intended for device management and do not establish that there is a supported way to hide the Beta Updates row on an unmanaged Mac. (Apple Support)

Apple: Prevent supervised devices from installing Apple beta software

Apple's documentation also confirms that macOS uses Apple's beta-update service for beta enrolment. (Apple Support)

Therefore, I would not conclude that the Beta Updates row is definitely hardcoded, nor that an MDM profile is necessarily the only possible solution.

At present, Apple simply does not document a specific user-level setting for hiding that row.

Since you have already turned beta updates off and removed your beta enrolment, the remaining question is why System Settings continues to display the control.

If you want to investigate that without installing an MDM profile, these commands are reasonable starting points:

sw_vers

profiles status -type enrollment

profiles list

defaults read com.apple.SoftwareUpdate

For your specific goal—beta updates disabled, no Beta Updates row, and no Profiles section.

I would avoid changing additional system files until the exact macOS version and Software Update configuration have been examined.

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