macOS processes

What is GoogleUpdater on Mac?

GoogleUpdater updates Chrome and other Google apps in the background. Older installs use the Keystone agent, GoogleSoftwareUpdateAgent.

Process: GoogleUpdaterProcess: GoogleSoftwareUpdateAgentApplies to: Google Chrome and other Google apps on all current macOS versions. Seen on macOS 27.2.Checked: 29 October 2026

Where you see it

  • GoogleUpdater is in the list in Activity Monitor › Network, in nettop or in Kilobat.
  • A firewall or network monitor asks if GoogleUpdater can connect.
  • Files named com.google.GoogleUpdater or com.google.keystone are in /Library/LaunchAgents or /Library/LaunchDaemons.

What it is

Google's help says that Chrome installs updates in the background. The Chromium updater manual describes the updater app and its install folders.

A per-user install is in ~/Library/Application Support/Google/GoogleUpdater. A system install is in /Library/Application Support/Google/GoogleUpdater.

Why it uses the network

  • Update checks. It asks Google's servers for new versions of the apps that it manages.
  • Update downloads. It downloads new versions of Chrome and other Google apps.

Is it normal?

Yes, if you have Google apps. Chrome updates are large downloads.

The Chromium manual says that the updater removes itself when no app needs it any more.

See how much it uses

  1. Open Activity Monitor from Applications > Utilities. Click Network.

  2. Type GoogleUpdater in the search field. The Sent Bytes and Rcvd Bytes columns show what it moved.

  3. In Terminal, watch only this process. Press d to show the change per second, and q to quit.

    nettop -p GoogleUpdater -P

  4. Do the same for GoogleSoftwareUpdateAgent. In nettop, its name is cut to 15 characters.

Reduce or pause it safely

  1. Keep Chrome up to date. Updates fix security problems.

  2. To update now, on your usual network, open Chrome. Choose Chrome > About Google Chrome, then click Relaunch.

  3. If you remove all Google apps, the updater removes itself after some hours. The Chromium manual describes this.

With Kilobat

  1. Open the Kilobat app list and search for GoogleUpdater. Its row shows the live rate and the bytes it moved.

  2. In Terminal, see the same live list. Press / and type the name to search.

    kilobat status --watch

  3. Show its traffic over one day. Names match kilobat report --summary.

    kilobat bandwidth GoogleUpdater day

  4. Through MCP, an AI agent gets the same history with get_app_bandwidth and the name GoogleUpdater.

  5. With Pro and the network filter, Kilobat pauses this updater on metered networks. The app keeps working. See Stop updates from using hotspot data.

    kilobat updaters

  6. The live view is free. History in the app needs Pro. Kilobat records history only while the app runs.

Questions

Can I stop GoogleUpdater on a hotspot only?

macOS has no setting for this. Kilobat Pro with the network filter pauses it on metered networks. Chrome keeps working.

Sources

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