Syspolicyd on Mac

If you’re the kind of person who frequently monitors your Mac’s performance in Activity Monitor, you may have stumbled across a process named syspolicyd that can use a lot of processing power. Its slightly strange name leads some users to worry it’s dangerous, but the syspolicyd process is perfectly safe.

In this guide, we’ll explain what syspolicyd on Mac is and what you can to troubleshoot it when it starts slowing you down by eating up too much CPU power.

Before we start:

 

If you’ve noticed your Mac isn’t performing like it used to, a lack of free storage space or a buildup of unnecessary system junk is often the culprit. You can quickly and safely eliminate this problem by clearing junk from your Apple computer with MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup.

 

Try this:

1. Download and install MacKeeper on your Mac.
2. When it opens, select Safe Cleanup in the MacKeeper sidebar.
3. Click Start Scan to find all the junk on your system.
4. Select the files you want to remove, then click Clean Junk Files.

What is syspolicyd on Mac?

Introduced in OS X 10.7.3 back in 2012, syspolicyd on Mac is a safe and legitimate process that helps improve the security of your system. As part of Gatekeeper, the daemon runs in the background and scans applications to ensure they are safe and free from malicious malware.

Under normal circumstances, syspolicyd shouldn’t get in your way or affect the performance of your Mac. But like some other system processes, such as kernel_task, there may be times when syspolicyd requires more of your computer’s CPU power, which can cause your Mac to slow to a crawl.

Troubleshooting syspolicyd high CPU usage on Mac

There are a number of ways you can fix syspolicyd on Mac if it starts to make your system slow and unstable. Firstly, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with how to see how much CPU is being used on Mac so that you can confirm syspolicyd really is the issue, then try these troubleshooting tips:

1. Reboot your Mac
2. Turn on system extensions
3. Force quit syspolicyd process
4. Use macOS Console app
5. Update applications and macOS
6. Reset SMC/PRAM/NVRAM

1. Reboot your Mac

In some cases, syspolicyd causes high CPU usage when it becomes stuck or stops acting as intended. This happens to all kinds of processes, such as the Google Chrome Helper renderer, which is known to regularly eat up system resources. Fortunately, you can simply reboot your Mac to fix it.

2. Turn on system extensions

I’ve noticed that a lot of Mac users run into issues with syspolicyd because kernel extensions (kexts) are blocked on their machines, preventing third-party apps that syspolicyd is trying to scan from working properly. To fix this, you’ll need to turn on system extensions by following these steps on an Intel Mac:

1. Open System Settings, then select Privacy & Security in the sidebar.
2. Scroll to the bottom and you’ll see a notice that says a system extension has been blocked. Click Details.
3. Click the toggle to enable the extension, then select OK.

Depending on the type of extension, you may be prompted to restart your Mac. The system extension won’t work until a reboot has been carried out.

On an Apple Silicon Mac, you first need to boot into Recovery mode and change your system’s Security Policy. Here’s how to do that:

1. Shut down your MacBook.
2. Press and hold your Mac’s power button until you see Loading startup options.
3. Click Options, then select Continue.
4. In macOS Recovery, go to Utilities > Startup Security Utility.
5. Select your Mac’s disk, then click Security Policy.
6. Choose Reduced Security, then ensure the Allow user management of kernel extensions option is checked.
7. Click OK.
8. In the macOS menu bar, click the Apple logo, then select Restart to confirm your changes.

Once this process is complete, you should be able to allow any extensions that need permission to run through System Settings like you would on an Intel Mac.

3. Force quit syspolicyd process

Although we don’t recommend force quitting the syspolicyd process, you can try this option if it’s using too much CPU power and you urgently need to use your computer. Here’s how:

1. In Finder, launch Activity Monitor from Applications > Utilities.
2. Find and select syspolicyd in the list of active processes. Click Process Name to sort them all alphabetically if you have trouble finding it.
3. With the process selected, click X in the Activity Monitor toolbar.
4. Select Force Quit to confirm.

Activity Monitor is the best way to find out which processes are active and using up your Mac’s resources. After checking it, you might wonder what some things are for, such as what is WindowServer on Mac. A simple Google search will usually tell you what each process does.

Important: 

 

Bear in mind that there are lots of other things that can slow down your Mac, such as a lack of storage space or a buildup of unnecessary files that need to be deleted. One of the quickest and safest ways to create space and remove junk is with MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup.

 

Here’s how to use it:

1. Open MacKeeper and select Safe Cleanup.
2. Click Start Scan.
3. Select the junk you want to remove, then click Clean Junk Files.

4. Use macOS Console app

Syspolicyd sometimes runs into issues because of kexts that aren’t working properly, which you may not receive a notification for. To identify any potential problems, use the Console app built into macOS, like so:

1. In Finder, go to Applications > Utilities and launch the Console app.
2. Select your Mac in the sidebar, then click Start streaming.
3. As Console begins to generate a log, type syspolicyd into the search bar in the top-right to find all related entries.
4. Look for any items that say Kernel Extension Blocked and select them to see which application they’re connected to.
5. Relaunch or reinstall the problematic app to fix the kernel extension.

5. Update applications and macOS

Syspolicyd problems can occur because of macOS issues or bugs in third-party applications. The best way to fix and minimize the risk of this is to ensure your operating system and programs are up to date. Here’s how to install macOS updates:

1. In System Settings, select General > Software Update.
2. If a new update is available, click Update Now or Restart Now to install it.

A hint from our team: To check for third-party application updates, go to the Updates section in the App Store. For apps downloaded from other sources, you’ll need to check the developer’s website for new releases.

6. Reset SMC/PRAM/NVRAM

I’ve noticed that many Mac problems, including issues with syspolicyd, can be fixed by resetting the PRAM/NVRAM and SMC. If you have an Apple silicon Mac, this process is as simple as restarting your machine. If you have an Intel Mac, you’ll need to follow these steps:

To reset PRAM/NVRAM:

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Turn on your Mac, then immediately press and hold Command + Option + P + R on the keyboard.
3. Keep holding all four keys for about 20 seconds while your Mac restarts. Release them when you see the Apple logo for a second time.

To reset the SMC:

1. Shut down your Mac.
2. Press and hold Control + Option on the left side of your keyboard, plus Shift on the right side of your keyboard.
3. Keep holding all three keys for about 7 seconds, then press and hold the power button as well.
4. After another 7 seconds, release all keys.
5. Wait a few more seconds, then turn your Mac back on.

Conclusion

You may find that the syspolicyd process can eat up your Mac’s CPU power from time to time, but don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe. However, syspolicyd shouldn’t make your Mac too slow to use or cause system freezes. If this happens, try the troubleshooting tips above to fix it.

You can also improve the performance and stability of your Mac by clearing out system junk and other unnecessary data. While it’s a pain to do this manually, MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup can take care of all the hard work for you in a matter of seconds. Give it a try today and see how much faster it makes your Mac.