macOS: How to Disable Rapid Security Response Software Updates - MacRumors
Skip to Content

macOS: How to Disable Rapid Security Response Software Updates

by

In macOS Ventura, Apple can deliver security updates to Macs without having to update the entire operating system. Keep reading to learn how it works and how you can disable it if you prefer.

Ventura Macs Feature Yellow
In the past, some of Apple's most important point releases of macOS have been linked to critical security updates that are designed to keep you and your private data safe and secure online.

Traditionally, one problem with these updates is that when a user opts to install them, the entire operating system must be updated and restarted.

In macOS 13‌ Ventura, Rapid Security Response is an option that can let you avoid the rigmarole of all that, allowing you to get important security improvements to your devices even faster, and have them applied automatically between standard software updates.

When you update to ‌macOS Ventura‌, Apple sets your Mac to install security updates automatically, but you can turn off the feature if you prefer. Here's how to do so.

  1. Click the Apple () symbol in your Mac's menu bar and select System Settings....
  2. Click General in the sidebar.
  3. Select Software Update from the menu.
  4. Click the encircled 'i' alongside Automatic Updates.
    settings

  5. Toggle off the switch next to Install Security Responses and System files.settings

That's all you need to do. From now on, your Mac will alert you to new security responses as they become available, with the option to install them manually.

Popular Stories

Apple Intelligence Comes Under Fire Feature

Apple Will 'Watch Everything Burn' When AI Bubble Bursts - Ed Zitron

Monday July 27, 2026 7:11 am PDT by
Memory prices have doubled, Macs and iPads have gone up, and iPhones are expected to follow. Ed Zitron – who writes the Where's Your Ed At newsletter, hosts the Better Offline podcast, and has been described by Politico as the AI boom's most "acerbic gadfly" – has spent years arguing the buildout driving those costs will never pay for itself. We asked him what happens to Apple if he's...
Apple Event Logo

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Wednesday July 29, 2026 11:39 am PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system that is essentially a mix of tvOS, watchOS, and iOS, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a report this week, he said the operating system will feature a grid of icons, widgets, and apps, along with customizable clock faces. The new software platform is intended for Apple's long-rumored smart home hub. With built-in facial recognition,...
imac video apple feature

Apple Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever This Year

Wednesday July 29, 2026 12:03 pm PDT by
Apple this year acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014. This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019. Q.ai...