You may find polarized opinions about MacKeeper on the web. We’re here to tell you the facts. The current MacKeeper is notarized by Apple, certified by AppEsteem, and has passed the AV-TEST comparison with a sealed 99.7% virus detection rate. The question is, can they all be trusted?
MacKeeper has learned its lesson well. At one point, we were struggling with our affiliate partners going off the rails in advertising. Many ads sounded way too intimidating, which is the complete opposite of how we wanted to market our product. That’s why we’ve meticulously revisited our partnerships, and started moving towards complete transparency.
In 2019, Clario Tech acquired MacKeeper’s developer, Kromtech, with the all-new transformative vision of the app. Since then, MacKeeper has experienced a complete makeover, including an all-new privacy feature set, in-depth code optimization, honest communication, and, well, trying our best to win back the hearts of our users and the industry. You can read more about our transformation here.
Is MacKeeper legit? Users say yes
When you research what users are saying about MacKeeper, you may come across multiple forum discussions. However, if you take a closer look at trusted review sources, like ShopperApproved or Trustpilot, you’ll hear the real user stories—both platforms are well known for strictly fighting fake reviews.
As of now, MacKeeper is rated Excellent on Trustpilot, with an overall score of 4.6 out of 5. If you have ever used Trustpilot to make a choice, you know these are 100% genuine reviews from real app users—the service is explicitly transparent and very honest about who leaves feedback.
What the experts are saying
The latest version of MacKeeper has also been critically acclaimed by top media reviewers. Even those who were sceptical about the app years ago have admitted that it has gone through a tremendous journey of transformation. Keith Martin from Macworld summed it up pretty well, saying that now MacKeeper “... is run by new management and it has independent approval from Apple as well as independent test labs including AV-Test, which gave it a 6 out of 6 score for both performance and protection”.
Chyell Dvoral from Techradar confirmed that “The features that MacKeeper offers today make it one of the best antivirus software choices available for Mac users”. Mark Sparrow from Forbes calls MacKeeper “... good value for money and it's’ well worth a look”.
Within the last two years, MacKeeper has been reviewed by top tier tech media, including big names like PCMag, Makeuseof, MacUpdate, SafetyDetectives, and more. You can check the latest media reviews here.
What Apple says
The Apple Corporation has never made any official statements about MacKeeper. However, some comments on Reddit or the Apple Discussions forum, state that Apple doesn’t recommend MacKeeper. When asked for proof points, these commenters usually referred to a discussion they had with some employees at the Apple Store. It's a matter of taste, of course, and everyone is free to like or dislike any app. However, we believe you should keep in mind that there’s a fine line between a company statement and the personal opinion of an employee.
Now, let’s talk facts. All Mac software distributed outside the Mac App Store must first be notarized by Apple, otherwise the app simply won’t launch. Notarization prevents users from installing suspicious apps: there’s an automatic software code checkup to ensure it’s free from malicious components.
Starting from late 2019, Apple has successfully notarized every MacKeeper version. It’s more proof confirming that the app meets the latest security requirements for macOS. Of course, notarization doesn’t mean that Apple recommends MacKeeper directly—it simply confirms that MacKeeper meets its own very high software performance and security standards. Take it as an airport security check—it ensures there’s nothing dangerous in your luggage and it’s perfectly safe to go ahead.
OK, what about the industry?
In the last few years, MacKeeper has been completely revamped, and we’ve never been more proud of it. However, the burden of a controversial legacy has made it almost impossible to spread the word. That’s why we’ve applied for numerous independent certifications to prove that MacKeeper is completely safe.
In 2019, MacKeeper sought, and obtained, certification from AppEsteem, a site devoted to eliminating the deceptive practices of various types of apps. By being the gold standard for app quality, AppEsteem verifies which software is safe, user-friendly, and compliant with the latest requirements.
AppEsteem has run numerous checkups for MacKeeper and has yet to find any signs of deceptive behavior. What’s more, every new app version gets certified before its public release—to make sure that MacKeeper is safe and we’re explicitly honest to our users.
AppEsteem is not alone in certifying us. AV-TEST is an independent IT security institute based in Germany, that has provided quality assuring comparison tests of security products for over 15 years. In December 2020, MacKeeper was proud to pass the AV-TEST expert certification too.
The results were outstanding, and that’s not just us boasting. During the antivirus comparison test, all our products achieved a maximum of 6 points each in the three categories of protection, performance and usability. A score of 18 points are the best possible test results you can achieve, which we did. At 10 points or higher, a product is awarded the AV-TEST seal of approval.
Now, MacKeeper Antivirus has scored 6.0 out of 6.0—the highest in all 3 categories (Protection, Performance, Usability). In addition, MacKeeper has managed to detect 99.7% of the most widespread malware, which is quite impressive, to say the least.
The company is safe, too
We think we must have shown enough proof points that highlight the safety of the app itself, but what about those who develop this app? We’re committed to protecting our users at the highest possible standard, and the ISO 27001 certification we received in early 2021 confirms this.
Having passed a multi-level audit, MacKeeper has proven that it keeps its assets secure and that it has the strongest level of security controls. The ISO 27001 certification verifies that MacKeeper’s data security systems meet current industry standards and best practices. This confirms that cybersecurity is paramount at MacKeeper.
Passing this certification is not easy to do—and very few of other security-focused companies have managed to do so. Bitdefender and ESET are on the list, along with MacKeeper.
Is MacKeeper safe: the key takeaway
There’s no evidence to prove otherwise. MacKeeper is legit and safe to use, simply because it’s a totally different product from what it used to be a decade ago. With clear communication, honest advertising, and a rock-solid feature set, MacKeeper is the app you can trust—there are multiple certifications and reviews to prove this.
