SpotlightNetHelper connects to Apple servers regardless of user settings

Question

SpotlightNetHelper connects to Apple servers regardless of user settings

Hello,

I am wondering for what purpose SpotlightNetHelper continues to make outgoing network connections to Apple servers, despite the fact that I: use the settings which Apple claims[1][2] will prevent "Spotlight search queries and Spotlight Suggestions usage data [to be] sent to Apple," have shut off Location Services, have opted not to send diagnostic or crash reports to Apple, have no iCloud account associated to my computer or OS whatsoever. I called AppleCare regarding this issue, and they proceeded to hang up on me upon understanding the nature of my question.

Relevant settings:

System Preferences > Spotlight > Search Results:

Checked boxes include only Applications, Documents, Folders, Spreadsheets, PDF Documents, Developer.

The box for "Allow Spotlight Suggestions in Spotlight and Lookup" is unchecked.

System Preferences > Privacy > Location Services:

"Enable Location Services" is unchecked.

System Preferences > Privacy > Diagnostics & Usage:

"Send diagnostic & usage data to Apple" is unchecked.

"Share crash data with app developers" is unchecked.

System Preferences > iCloud:

There is no iCloud account associated with my OS.

Despite this, SpotlightNetHelper continues to make connections to Apple.com servers and others, as can be seen in the attached image. So, I need to know what the nature of the data is…

What does the data sent by SpotlightNetHelper to Apple and other servers include (other than "Spotlight search queries and Spotlight Suggestions" and data from Location Services, all of which should not be being sent)?

Further, I am wondering how I can prevent SpotlightNetHelper from making any network connections whatsoever. Since I only use Spotlight to search my own computer, these connections are unnecessary. Because Spotlight is the only OSX-bundled service that allows a user to search the contents of their own computer, a standard feature of any OS, it's imperative that a user be able to utilize this basic service without being forced to share any of their data with any party.

Thanks for your time!!

[1] OS X Yosemite: About Spotlight Suggestions

[2] OS X Yosemite: Spotlight preferences

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on Apr 29, 2015 9:21 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

tacopop

Level 1

5 points

May 21, 2015 10:54 PM in response to ShannonTyler89

I hope you get an official response from Apple because this very much deserves one. When the initial furor over Spotlight phoning home took place Apple sidestepped it by saying "hey, we gave you some buttons to opt out". Well those buttons clearly aren't working.

I went one step further and turned off EVERY possible option presented to me regarding spotlight, basically I tried to turn it off all together. When I type in the spotlight box SpotlightNetHelper still gets launched and Activity Monitor shows it is still sending data out over the network. "Spotlight Web Content" also appears in Activity Monitor and reports outgoing network activity. It will sometimes be displayed with the name of a website I've visited before, other times I see the name of a site I've never been to. When I ask for info on that process and check it's "Open Files and Ports" tab I see this rather concerning item in the list: ".Spotlight.2.PrivateBrowsing-3". Why on earth would I ever want a connection between spotlight and private browsing?

Apple really needs to give some clarification here of what these processes are doing and a *simple* way for all users to prevent them from using the network.

For now, I find you can prevent SpotlightNetHelper from being launched by renaming it. The next system update will rename it back of course, but if you're concerned enough to stay on top of that you can find it at:

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/ParsecUI.framework/Versions/A/Support/Spotligh tNetHelper.app/Contents/MacOS/SpotlightNetHelper

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Answer 2

Jul 30, 2015 10:27 PM in response to tacopop

I'm still waiting for this answer myself!

There are a lot of processes running these days which I have no clue what they actually do. New processes keep popping up as the software updates come through. These are likely XPC processes of some sort. It would be nice to know what these processes do.

My Proposal to Apple:

In order to maintain open transparency, as all leading tech companies are striving to achieve these days, lets require that all processes come packaged with a detailed explanation as to what they do. I would also suggest making this a requirement for all applications running whether its a builtin app or an app that was installed.

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Answer 3

Eric Root

Level 10

684,033 points

Jul 31, 2015 2:20 PM in response to macmichael01

Apple doesn’t routinely monitor the discussions. These are mostly user to user discussions.

Send Apple feedback. They won't answer, but at least will know there is a problem. If enough people send feedback, it may get the problem solved sooner.

Feedback

Or you can use your Apple ID to register with this site and go the Apple BugReporter. Supposedly you will get an answer if you submit feedback.

Feedback via Apple Developer

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Answer 4

Oct 19, 2015 8:48 PM in response to ShannonTyler89

I was initially looking for what SpotlightNetHelper actually is and this thread did tell me what it is, so here's why I'm looking for it, might help you out. I enabled KeyChain and SpotlightNetHelper needs to access it to get to Proxies I configured on my Mac. One simple way to disable all outgoing network activity from Spotlight is not to give it access to your keychain. Click "Deny"when it asks you for access. This is, of course, for proxy enabled networks, in other cases it might not even ask for the credentials, but it shouldn't be too hard to configure a bogus proxy on your home WiFi router, most come with that feature. Again, it's a work-around till we get a reply from Apple and not entirely hassle-free I'm afraid.

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Answer 5

Nuke

Level 1

89 points

Dec 9, 2015 6:23 AM in response to IrtizaISB

I just noticed this same issue over the past couple of days. I've been using Little Snitch to make sure it doesn't call home. But it really bothers me that the disable button doesn't work. This is likely a privacy issue and hence Apple's lack of response to the issue.

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Answer 6

rccharles

Level 6

12,957 points

Feb 12, 2016 5:59 PM in response to ShannonTyler89

I recommend that you try littlesnitch. littlesnitch will track your Web traffic and tell you which applications are sending data from your computer. For each app, you decide to let the data pass or not. Be sure to run it awhile because it will trigger a number of alerts. In trail mode, it will run for three hours per boot for a about a month.

http://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html

http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/177307/spotlight-makes-repeated-http-re quests

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