Don’t Use iCloud? How to Remove “Start Using iCloud” Notifications on Mac

If you’re a Mac user who does not use iCloud, nor do you want to use iCloud, you might be bothered by the “Start Using iCloud” notifications and messages in System Preferences to use the iCloud service.

iCloud is undeniably useful with its syncing capabilities, but if you don’t use it for whatever reason, you might want to get rid of the nagging notifications about using iCloud found in System Preferences and Notifications on the Mac.

Getting rid of the “Start Using iCloud” Message on Mac

If you are currently logged into an iCloud account or Apple ID, you can delete the Apple ID / iCloud account from the Mac and by removing it, you should stop getting any nags or hassles to sign into iCloud (unless trying to use iCloud features).

Another option is to repeatedly choose the “Not Now” option from the notification. That’s not ideal, but it dismisses the Start Using iCloud message for a while, typically until a reboot.

Another option is to permanently enable Do Not Disturb mode which hides all notifications, including iCloud nags and system alert notifications

You can also remove the badge from System Preferences using a defaults write command, which we’ll cover below.

Removing “Sign into iCloud” Notification from System Preferences Completely if you Don’t Use iCloud

Open the Terminal application, found in /Applications/Utilities/, and issue the following commands:

sudo launchctl bootout gui/501/com.apple.followupd

Hit return then issue the following command as well:

sudo launchctl disable gui/501/com.apple.followupd

This should completely remove the Sign Into iCloud notification from System Preferences if you are not using iCloud and do not intend to use iCloud.

Going this route may also lead to other iCloud features not working as expected or at all, and perhaps some other oddities with notifications, so if you intend to use iCloud you will not want to go this approach. Some users report AirDrop not working as expected with this disabled, but YMMV, so proceed as your own discretion.

Thanks to bogdanw for this tip left in comments!

Remove the Start Using iCloud Notification Badge in System Preferences on Mac

Open the Terminal application from /Applications/Utilities/ and issue the following command string:

defaults delete com.apple.systempreferences AttentionPrefBundleIDs

Relaunching System Preferences should cause the red badge to go away.

There are many users who are frustrated by this, and while there aren’t any perfect solutions currently available, the above tricks may work for you.

Thanks to Apple discussion boards and MacRumors forums for the defaults write command.

If you don’t use iCloud, or don’t want to agree to the iCloud terms on a Mac, do you have another method for getting rid of the iCloud nagging notifications on Mac? Share your personal experiences in the comments.