App Store Updates

I have an update on my Macbook Air App Store to an App that I don't even have. I have never downloaded it or anything but it asks me to update it...

I'm am assuming you did, well, sort of. Have you ever gotten something from somewhere or someone whose origin was from the app store? App store apps have embedded in them a file called a _MASReceipt. Once upon a time at the beginning of app store "history" you could convert some non-free apps to free by replacing the _MASReceipt in the non-free app with the one from the free app. That hole is long since sealed.

Apple's scans your entire machine (limited to what spotlight scans) looking for _MASReceipt's to see what app store apps need updating (and only God and apple knows what else they are looking for to send home). I suspect it found a free app's _MASReceipt embedded in some other app. So the scan now thinks that free app needs updating and it is telling you that. But since the _MASReceipt is embedded in some other app you are confused as to what it's talking about.

You need to find that _MASReceipt. You can use Find Any File and search for _MASReceipt. It will look for them even if embedded in application bundles. Then you need to look at what it finds to see of any of the app's it is embedded in are ones you didn't download from the app store.

What did you search for exactly? Did you search all your volumes? I still think that _MASReceipt has got to be buried in there somewhere.

Assuming you do have some stuff from the app store did FindAnyFile find their _MASReceipt's? If not you set up the search wrong. If yes, check the list of enlcosing app's again that FAF displayed to see if all of them are ones that you had downloaded from the app store.

I am assuming "Nyan Cat Lost in Space" is what you are being prompted for for updating. And I've been saying there is a _MASReceipt buried in something else that came from that "Nyan Cat Lost in Space". I said look for _MASReceipt's in some app that you didn't download.

Using your picture above as an example, you highlighted a find for a _MASReceipt buried inside an app called "Worms Special Edition". So the question would be did you actually buy "Worms Special Edition"? Now ask that same question to yourself for every _MASReceipt FAF found; "Did I buy the app that contains that _MASReceipt"?

You are not looking for "Nyan Cat Lost in Space" (again I am assuming that is what is being asked to be update). You won't find that name. All you can do is try to find the _MASReceipt that's triggering it which is inside some other app with a different name that you did not buy.

PERFECT!!!!

Thanks X423424X

You help me a lot!!!!!

Thanks!!

thanks you so much this was really helpful 🙂

Pfff, no reponse?

Worked great! Just delete the folder.

Solved it more me too thanks had the same problem your solution helped thanks 🙂

try running the following in the terminal

find . -name 'Nyan'

maybe you could come across some clue as to which app is corrupted...

Yes this was bothering me for a while too. I was searching to see if anyone found a specific program/application that the "_MASReceipt" was tied too. Found nothing on it but I did find that the "_MASReceipt" was within the program I downloaded called - "Worms Special Edition". Removed Worms Special Edition from my computer and now app store updates section shows nothing. As I read earlier the _MASReceipt could be attached to any application. I was just happy to have found where it was attached on my system.

Hey everyone, I had the same problem and it turned out that i had downloaded a torrent for Worms game. The application Nyan Cat and the update was apparently together with that app. Once I uninstalled everything about it from my computer, the update on the appstore disappeared.

xxx