One of the reasons we love macOS is its tight security features. You hardly have to worry about viruses or malware because Apple keeps the operating software so securely locked down. It’s all well and good until you can’t open apps because macOS keeps verifying them.
This is exactly what’s happening to a lot of macOS Catalina users. Often the problem starts shortly after updating to the new operating software.
After starting up your Mac and opening an app, a loading bar appears saying macOS is “Verifying [Application]”. Sometimes it takes half an hour or longer before the verification finishes and lets you use the app!
Apparently, macOS Catalina feels the need to verify all kinds of apps. Not just unrecognized ones, but common apps like Xcode, Microsoft Word, and even Apple’s own iWork apps.
Some users say it takes over half an hour for the progress bar to fill up.
But first, let’s explore some less time-consuming suggested solutions.
Don’t confuse this issue for Gatekeeper restrictions
Gatekeeper is a macOS security feature that only lets you open Apple-trusted software. If you see a message that “macOS cannot verify that this app is free from malware” then you’re dealing with Gatekeeper.
Generally speaking, you can bypass Gatekeeper restrictions by control-clicking the application and selecting Open from the pop-up menu. A new alert warns you the software is unverified by Apple and may contain malicious software, but you can still choose to Open it anyway.
If macOS says it cannot verify your app you need to bypass Gatekeeper.
What to do if your Mac is verifying applications
There are a lot of reasons your Mac might take a long time verifying applications before you can open them. Try each of the potential solutions below, testing your applications again after each one.
Let us know which solution works for you in the comments!
1. Update macOS and all your apps
A lot of users experienced similar problems to this when Apple released macOS High Sierra in 2017. Eventually, Apple released a patch update to fix this issue. Hopefully the same will happen for macOS Catalina.
Ensure your Mac and all your apps are fully up-to-date:
From the menu bar on your Mac, go to > Software Update.
Download and install any available updates to macOS.
Now open the Mac App Store and select Updates from the sidebar.
Download and install any available updates to your apps.
For any apps you downloaded outside of the App Store, visit the developer’s website to download and install the latest updates.
Check the box to automatically keep your Mac updated.
2. Remove and reinstall problematic apps
Apple runs a verification process on each of your apps to ensure it’s notarized and free of potentially damaging malware. After macOS verifies an app, it should add that app to a whitelist so it doesn’t need verification again.
Of course, part of the problem here is that macOS keeps verifying the same apps every time you open them. It refuses to trust the software. Try removing your app entirely, then reinstalling it to see if that helps macOS mark it as verified.
To remove and reinstall apps from your Mac:
Open Launchpad then click and hold any app.
Click the X button to uninstall apps you got from the Mac App Store. There are numerous stock Apple apps you can’t uninstall.
For apps you downloaded elsewhere, visit the developer’s website for uninstall instructions. If they don’t provide any, drag the app to the Trash from your Applications folder.
If an app doesn’t show a delete button, drag it to the Trash with Finder.
3. Look at activity monitor
Activity Monitor displays all the processes running on your computer at any point in time.
Open the Activity Monitor app in Applications > Utilities.
Look under the Process Name list and check if an app is stuck in XProtectService and review how much CPU that process consumes. If the app or process is unresponsive, macOS marks that with (Not Responding.)
If the app’s progress bar stops moving forward and stays there for a period of time, that app might be stuck in the verifying process.
If you don’t see the verifying app making progress and believe it is stuck, either quit or force quit the process or the app.
To quite or force quit the process, select it and press the “x” button in the upper-left corner of the Activity Monitor.
When you choose to quit. The process quits when it’s safe to do so, just like when you normally quit using File > Quit within the app.
With a force quit, the process quits immediately.
4. Uninstall any antivirus, security, or cleanup software
Most antivirus, security, or cleanup apps designed for macOS are notorious for creating more problems than they solve. Thanks to Gatekeeper and other built-in security features, you don’t typically need to use third-party security or antivirus software in macOS.
Even if you installed these apps before the verification problems started in macOS, try uninstalling them now. Then restart your Mac to see if it resolves the problem. Visit the developer’s website for each app to find uninstall instructions.
Potentially problematic apps include:
MacKeeper
MacCleaner
Dr Cleaner
5. Boot into Safe Mode and repair your disk
Safe Mode runs software checks, limits startup programs, and clears various caches during startup. This is designed to resolve potential problems in macOS.
Restart your Mac and hold Shift while it boots up to launch Safe Mode. You should see red text saying “Safe Boot” from the top-right of the login screen. open various apps to see if the verification problem still persists.
Restart your Mac again to exit Safe Mode.
It only says ‘Safe Boot’ on the login screen.
Then open Disk Utility to repair permissions on your disk:
Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder in Applications.
Select your Macintosh HD from the sidebar.
Click the First Aid button and agree to Run First Aid.
The length of time it takes to run First Aid varies depending on your drive.
6. Disable app verification in macOS
Using the right Terminal command, it’s possible to completely disable the verification security feature on your Mac. If your only aim is to open apps quickly, this is an effective solution, but there are serious risks with it.
Apple designed macOS to verify apps before opening them to protect your privacy and keep macOS secure. If you use the instructions below to disable verification, your Mac is at a far greater risk of becoming infected by malware.
You should only use this as a temporary solution, if at all.
Use Terminal to disable verification on your Mac:
Open Terminal from the Utilities folder in Applications.
Copy and paste the following command into Terminal, then press Return: defaults write com.apple.LaunchServices LSQuarantine -bool NO
When ready to re-enable verification, enter the same code into Terminal replacing NO at the end with YES instead.
Take extra care when entering any commands into Terminal so you don’t damage your Mac.
Try a different Terminal Command
Some users tell us that this Terminal Command no longer works with macOS Catalina 10.15.4 and higher.
Some readers found that using this command instead worked for them:
Add a space between quarantine and /Applications–this is critical!
You may not need to use sudo at the start of the command, depending on your account privileges
The xattr command should help if your app is stuck in a verifying loop.
You can also drag and drop the app in question into Terminal
Open a new Terminal app window
Type in the following: xattr -d com.apple.quarantine
Make sure you place a spaceafter quarantine
Take your app and drag & drop it into Terminal
The command should now read something like: xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/AppName.app
Press enter
Try again to open that app
7. Erase your Mac and reinstall macOS
If nothing else works, or if you don’t want to permanently compromise the security of your Mac, attempt erasing the computer completely. Of course, be sure to make a Time Machine backup of your Mac before you do this, otherwise, you will lose all your data.
This entire process—backing up, erasing, reinstalling macOS, and recovering your backup—can be incredibly time-consuming. Prepare for your Mac to be out-of-action for at least a day while you do it.
Follow these steps to erase your Mac and reinstall macOS:
Create a new backup of your Mac using Time Machine.
Hold Command+R while your Mac powers on to boot into Recovery Mode.
From the macOS Utilities window, open Disk Utility.
Select your Macintosh HD from the sidebar and click Erase. Fill in a new name for your drive and confirm you want to Erase it.
Quit Disk Utility and click Reinstall macOS from the Utilities window.
Follow the on-screen prompts to reinstall macOS Catalina.
After the software is installed, connect to your Time Machine backup and recover the important information. Don’t recover your entire backup.
Recovery Mode will reinstall the current version of macOS on your computer.
Failing all else, downgrade to macOS Mojave
By now, you should be able to open apps in macOS Catalina without waiting 30 minutes for them to finish verifying. If so, let us know which step helped you fix the verification problem in the comments.
Otherwise, follow this guide to downgrade your Mac to macOS Mojave. The instructions refer to macOS High Sierra but are still appropriate for Mojave.
Reader tips
If the app keeps showing that verifying message each time you open it, it’s likely that macOS is still flagging it. To remove that flag, use Terminal with the command: sudo xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/AppName.app
On the app icon, hold down Option then right-click on it and select Open from the drop-down menu options. You see the same message about the app not being from a verified developer. But macOS allows you to continue anyway and open it. You only need to do this one time. After that once, the app opens normally, just like all other apps
Sometimes apps don’t launch after that macOS verification process. In that case, perform a force quit and then the app should work. You can force quit an app via the Apple menu > Force Quit, and then select the app and confirm Force Quit
Dan writes tutorials and troubleshooting guides to help people make the most of their technology. Before becoming a writer, he earned a BSc in Sound Technology, supervised repairs at an Apple Store, and even taught English in China.
I have the same problem opening Microsoft programs using MacOS BigSur 11.7.8. This advice for fixing the problem is overwhelming and undoable for me. Perhaps it’s easier to dump Microsoft – but maybe that’s just what Apple wants… ughh!
Erasing and reinstalling applications on my computer, or the entire OS is a very poor solution to the recurring “verifying software” problem, Apple we need better.
Agree completely. This is the absolutely last resort anyone should think about, and there’s nothing to suggest that the annoying “verifying [software]” won’t happen again after you’ve spent hours and hours installing software. I really don’t think that reinstalling the OS is ever needed for this kind of problem, or is likely to ever be the correct solution.
I found a simple workaround for this annoying Microsoft habit. When I leave my office after work I log out my computer and click sleep. If anyone steals it they don’t have the administrative password so at least I have some protection. Meanwhile I leave Word and Excel open, so when I log in the next day they are still open apps and won’t go through the absurd verifying procedure. This works fine.
I totally agree. Never to buy Mac once again. Verifying trusted apps is annoying. I had to print a document quickly so I ran MS Word. I lost 20 minutes for verification and then I had to break all the traffic laws to be on time on a business meeting. I am selling my Mac now. Stressful situations are not the things I am going to expect from a business tool like a computer.
And after upgrading to “more efficient” Big Sur my Mac is slower and less efficient.
sudo xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/AppName.app does nothig, launching the program after running the command still goes through verification. Verification takes place only the first time after boot, so runnign the script and launching teh program after it’s been launched within the current session does, indeed, skip verification. But, this is not because the script worked.
The problem users have is that every time a program is run the OS “verifys” it, which is a gross disrespect to users’ time. I need this removed and Apple Computers Inc. should address and fix the problem.
Try temporarily changing some security settings and then delete the app.
Go to Apple menu > System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General. Tap the lock icon and unlock your settings with your password. Then choose App and identified developers under All apps downloaded from.
Once done, close System Preferences and then try deleting the app using Launchpad (press and hold the app icon until it wiggles, then tap the x to delete) or Finder.
If this app is malware, there’s a great program for Macs called Malwarebytes that removes unwanted programs and detects and removes viruses, ransomware, and other malware. It’s free for 14 days and then runs between 40-60 USD depending on how many devices you want to protect.
Apple must have changed something in the 10.15.4 update
typing
“defaults write com.apple.LaunchServices LSQuarantine -bool NO”
or
“sudo defaults write com.apple.LaunchServices LSQuarantine -bool NO”
into the terminal does not disable the verification process.
My next step will be doing the clean install, but at the same time will place move all my data from iCloud to in pCloud, create a second partition and install Linux.
I have the same problem opening Microsoft programs using MacOS BigSur 11.7.8. This advice for fixing the problem is overwhelming and undoable for me. Perhaps it’s easier to dump Microsoft – but maybe that’s just what Apple wants… ughh!
Erasing and reinstalling applications on my computer, or the entire OS is a very poor solution to the recurring “verifying software” problem, Apple we need better.
Agree completely. This is the absolutely last resort anyone should think about, and there’s nothing to suggest that the annoying “verifying [software]” won’t happen again after you’ve spent hours and hours installing software. I really don’t think that reinstalling the OS is ever needed for this kind of problem, or is likely to ever be the correct solution.
I found a simple workaround for this annoying Microsoft habit. When I leave my office after work I log out my computer and click sleep. If anyone steals it they don’t have the administrative password so at least I have some protection. Meanwhile I leave Word and Excel open, so when I log in the next day they are still open apps and won’t go through the absurd verifying procedure. This works fine.
Running Catalina 10.15.7, but when running:
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Final\ Cut\ Pro.app
xattr: /Applications/Final Cut Pro.app: No such xattr: com.apple.quarantine
Is there a new workaround for this?
I totally agree. Never to buy Mac once again. Verifying trusted apps is annoying. I had to print a document quickly so I ran MS Word. I lost 20 minutes for verification and then I had to break all the traffic laws to be on time on a business meeting. I am selling my Mac now. Stressful situations are not the things I am going to expect from a business tool like a computer.
And after upgrading to “more efficient” Big Sur my Mac is slower and less efficient.
Why don’t Apple and/or Microsoft take ownership of this and fix it?
This issue STARTED for me after a clean install. Don’t expect too much from it!
Oh, how I miss “It just works”!
This issue STARTED for me after a clean install. Don’t expect too much from it!
sudo xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/AppName.app does nothig, launching the program after running the command still goes through verification. Verification takes place only the first time after boot, so runnign the script and launching teh program after it’s been launched within the current session does, indeed, skip verification. But, this is not because the script worked.
The problem users have is that every time a program is run the OS “verifys” it, which is a gross disrespect to users’ time. I need this removed and Apple Computers Inc. should address and fix the problem.
Catalina is the Vista of apple OS’s. I’ve never had so many problem as with this update.
I like the comparison 🙂
uightquemos.app” cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified.
I need to remove it manually. How do I proceed ?
Many thanks
Martine
Hi Martine,
Try temporarily changing some security settings and then delete the app.
Go to Apple menu > System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General. Tap the lock icon and unlock your settings with your password. Then choose App and identified developers under All apps downloaded from.
Once done, close System Preferences and then try deleting the app using Launchpad (press and hold the app icon until it wiggles, then tap the x to delete) or Finder.
If this app is malware, there’s a great program for Macs called Malwarebytes that removes unwanted programs and detects and removes viruses, ransomware, and other malware. It’s free for 14 days and then runs between 40-60 USD depending on how many devices you want to protect.
Apple must have changed something in the 10.15.4 update
typing
“defaults write com.apple.LaunchServices LSQuarantine -bool NO”
or
“sudo defaults write com.apple.LaunchServices LSQuarantine -bool NO”
into the terminal does not disable the verification process.
My next step will be doing the clean install, but at the same time will place move all my data from iCloud to in pCloud, create a second partition and install Linux.
Correct, running this command does not change anything! Verification is still happening 🙁
That Quick Gatekeeper Bypass Tip Was Spot On. Thanks!
Thank you so much! These steps were very helpful to me!
I fixed the problem by reinstalling Office 365 without the need to uninstall any applications. I’m assuming the existing apps were simply overwritten
The steps about using First Aid and booting in safe mode were super helpful and took no time or issues at all! Thank you!