---
title: "Stop updates from using hotspot data · Kilobat Recipes"
url: "https://kilobat.app/guides/recipes/stop-updates-on-hotspot"
description: "Pause Google Updater, Microsoft AutoUpdate, macOS Software Update and App Store downloads on metered networks with Kilobat, while the apps keep working."
---

Recipe

# Stop updates from using hotspot data

On a metered network, Kilobat can pause the helpers that download updates. The apps keep working, and the updates continue on your usual network.

Needs Kilobat Pro in the app · Blocking needs the network filter · Checked: 29 October 2026

## In the app

1. Make sure that Kilobat treats the network as metered. macOS flags an iPhone hotspot. For other networks, open the Wi-Fi menu and set Data cost to Metered.
2. Open the dashboard and click the Health tab.
3. Find Pause updaters. Turn on On metered networks. It is on by default.
4. Click What’s covered and what got through. The list shows the covered helpers and the update bytes that got through on this network.
5. Read the apps under Sparkle and Squirrel. These apps update from inside the app, so Kilobat cannot pause them separately.

## With the CLI

1. Mark the current network as metered, if macOS does not.

   ```
   kilobat networks cost metered
   ```
2. Show the updater report.

   ```
   kilobat updaters
   ```

   Output The `covered` helpers, the update bytes that got through (`gotThrough`), connections paused in the last 24 hours and the `inProcess` apps.
3. Turn pausing on. It is on by default.

   ```
   kilobat updaters on
   ```
4. To let one update through, allow its helper for a short time.

   ```
   kilobat allow com.google.GoogleUpdater --minutes 30
   ```

## Through MCP

Connect the MCP server once with `claude mcp add kilobat -- kilobat mcp`. For other clients, see [the docs](https://kilobat.app/docs#agents). Then an agent can call these tools. Tools that change settings tell the agent to ask you first.

| Tool and arguments | What it does |
|---|---|
| `get_updaters` | The covered helpers, what got through, and whether updaters are paused now. |
| `set_network_cost` `{"cost": "metered"}` | Treat the current network as metered. |
| `set_updater_pause` `{"pause": "on"}` | Pause updater helpers on metered networks. |

## Good to know

- Kilobat covers Google Updater and Keystone, Microsoft AutoUpdate, `softwareupdated`, App Store downloads, and the Sparkle and Squirrel helpers.
- The filter stops new connections. A download that started before the network became metered can finish.
- Kilobat changes no setting in other apps or in System Settings. There is nothing to restore.
- The Unrestricted profile pauses nothing.

## Questions

**Why does an app still update on the hotspot?**

Many apps that use Sparkle or Electron download the update inside the app. Turn off automatic updates in that app, or block the app for a while.

**How do I stop macOS updates without Kilobat?**

Change the Software Update settings in macOS. See [Stop Software Update downloading on a hotspot](https://kilobat.app/guides/software-update-on-hotspot).

## Sources

- [Kilobat docs: Pausing updaters on metered networks](https://kilobat.app/docs#updaters)
- [Kilobat docs: Hotspots and data cost](https://kilobat.app/docs#data-cost)
- [Kilobat llms.txt: CLI and MCP reference](https://kilobat.app/llms.txt)

Sources checked on 29 October 2026. Man pages are the ones installed with macOS; open one with `man <name>` in Terminal.

## Related guides

- [Stop Software Update downloading on a hotspot](https://kilobat.app/guides/software-update-on-hotspot): macOS can download updates on its own.
- [Make a Mac treat a network as metered](https://kilobat.app/guides/metered-network-mac): macOS marks some connections as expensive, such as an iPhone Personal Hotspot.
- [See which app uses data on a hotspot](https://kilobat.app/guides/recipes/hotspot-data-by-app): Kilobat shows the upload and download of each app on your Mac.
- [Block an app on metered networks](https://kilobat.app/guides/recipes/block-app-on-metered): The Travel profile allows only the apps that you choose.
- [What is GoogleUpdater on Mac?](https://kilobat.app/guides/what-is-googleupdater): GoogleUpdater updates Chrome and other Google apps in the background.