If you’re a Mac and iPhone user, you may have noticed that OS X automatically launches the Photos app every time you attach your iOS device via a sync cable, or insert an SD memory card. There’s a quick and easy way to stop the app from launching.
The tip comes from Melbourne-based photographer Ben Fon, via PetaPixel.
- Open the Terminal program on your Mac.
- Enter the following line: defaults -currentHost write com.apple.ImageCapture disableHotPlug -bool YES
- Press Enter.
That’s it, Apple Photos should stay closed whenever you attach an iOS device, or insert a memory card into your Mac.
If you decide you’d rather have the Photos app auto-start some time in the future, just enter the above line again, replacing the “YES” with a “NO.”:
defaults -currentHost write com.apple.ImageCapture disableHotPlug -bool NO
Sure, Apple Photos has an option to click to prevent auto-launching, but it has to be enabled for every device. Plus, you apparently have to re-enable it every time you format your memory card. Irritating, right? However, the above trick will turn it off for every device or memory card.
