Nearby devices

What is rapportd?

rapportd lets your Mac talk to your other Apple devices. Its traffic is mostly on the local network, to your iPhone, iPad or other Macs, not to the internet.

Process: rapportdMade by AppleApplies to: macOS 14 Sonoma and later. Checked on macOS 27.2.Checked: 1 November 2026

Short answer

Part of macOS. It connects this Mac to your other Apple devices on the local network for Handoff, phone calls and other Continuity features.

Block with care

Blocking it is safe for the internet, but Handoff and other features between your Apple devices stop.

Path: /usr/libexec/rapportd
launchd label: com.apple.rapportd
Signing identifier: com.apple.rapportd

What it is

The man page says that rapportd enables “Phone Call Handoff and other communication features between Apple devices”. The program is /usr/libexec/rapportd.

launchd starts it as com.apple.rapportd, both for the system and for each user.

On a test Mac, lsof showed that rapportd listens on a TCP port and connects to another Apple device on the same network. That is why firewalls ask about incoming connections for it.

Why it uses the network

Your other Apple devices. It connects to devices that use the same Apple Account, on the local network.
Continuity features. Handoff, phone calls on the Mac and other features between your devices use it. Apple's Handoff article says that the devices need Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the same Apple Account.

How much is normal

Small amounts of local traffic are usual when you have other Apple devices nearby.

Apple doesn't document how much data each feature uses. Its connections on the test Mac went to devices on the same network, so they don't count against an internet data plan.

An incoming-connection prompt from the macOS firewall or another firewall is expected. It listens for your devices.

When it uses a lot, and why

Several devices on one network. Each of your Macs, iPhones and iPads can talk to the others. More devices mean more small connections.
Handoff and calls. Using Handoff or answering phone calls on the Mac makes it talk to the iPhone.

Is it safe to block?

Block with care

Blocking it is safe for the internet, but Handoff and other features between your Apple devices stop.

What breaks if you block it

Handoff between this Mac and your other devices stops.
Phone call handoff and other Continuity features that need it may stop.
Blocking incoming connections for it in the macOS firewall has the same effect on the features that listen.

Blocking means a firewall rule that refuses its connections. Don’t quit or disable a macOS process to save data: macOS starts it again, and other features depend on it.

Reduce its use

Choose Apple menu › System Settings › General › AirDrop & Continuity.
Turn off Allow Handoff if you don't use it.
Other Continuity features have their own settings. Turn off only the ones that you don't use.
Don't quit rapportd in Activity Monitor. macOS starts it again.

See how much it uses

Open Activity Monitor from Applications › Utilities. Click Network, then search for rapportd.
In Terminal, list its open network connections. The remote addresses show which devices it talks to.
```
lsof -nP -i -a -c rapportd
```

With Kilobat

In the Kilobat app list, search for rapportd. Its row shows the live rate and what it moved today.
In Connections, click the ⓘ button on one of its rows. The popover shows this page’s short answer, without going online.
In Terminal, ask the same question. Add --json for scripts and agents.
```
kilobat explain 'rapportd'
```
Show its traffic over one day.
```
kilobat bandwidth 'rapportd' day
```
Through MCP, an AI agent asks explain_connection with the process name. It gets the same facts.

The live view and the explanations are free. History in the app needs Kilobat Pro. Blocking needs Pro and the network filter: see the network filter, Protection and the hotspot data saver.

Questions

Should I allow rapportd in my firewall?

If you use Handoff or calls on the Mac, allow it. It is part of macOS, signed by Apple.

Does rapportd use internet data?

On the test Mac, its connections went to devices on the local network. Apple doesn't document all its connections.

Sources

rapportd(8), man page installed with macOS 27.2
launchd property list com.apple.rapportd, macOS 27.2
lsof(8), man page installed with macOS 27.2
Apple Support: Hand off tasks between Apple devices
Apple Platform Security: Continuity security overview

Checked on 1 November 2026.