Everyone who uses a Mac knows what the iPhoto app is and what it does. It is a photo management app that comes preloaded on Apple’s Mac machines. The app makes it a breeze for you to transfer photos from your other Apple devices over to your Mac. You just need to plug in your iDevice, let the iPhoto app launch, and it will do the synchronization to transfer all the photos and videos on your device to your Mac.
One of the issues here though is that the iPhoto app automatically launches each time you connect your iPhone or a media device to your Mac that has a photos folder on it. So, how can you stop the app from automatically opening when you connect a media device to your machine? Well, there’s a way.
You don’t need to download an app to get the job done as the iPhoto app itself provides an option to turn off automatic launching. Here’s how you can use it:
Stopping iPhoto from Automatically Launching When a Media Device is Connected
Click on Launchpad in your dock and search for and click on “iPhoto.” The app will launch.
When the app launches, click on “iPhoto” followed by “Preferences.” It will take you to the Preferences panel where you can change settings for the app.
Make sure that you are in the “General” panel. If not, click on “General” on the top and you will get there.
On this panel, you should see an option that says “Connecting camera opens.” Click on the drop-down menu that follows it and select “No application.” It tells your machine not to launch any app when a media device is connected to your computer.
And you are done.
The iPhoto app will no longer launch when you connect a device that has photos on it to your Mac. The app now knows you don’t want to use it for each of your media devices.
If you wish the app to not launch when a specific iPhone is connected to your Mac, you can set it using the Image Capture app. That way the app won’t launch when you connect a device such as your personal iPhone to your machine. Here’s how you can do that:
Make sure your iPhone is connected to your Mac while doing the following steps.
Stopping iPhoto from Automatically Launching for a Specific Device
Click on Launchpad in your dock and search for and click on “Image Capture.” It will launch the app for you.
Click on your iPhone in the left panel, and then click on the Up-arrow icon in the bottom-left corner. It should pull up the menu for you.
When the menu shows up, click on the drop-down menu and select “No application.” It tells your Mac not to launch the app when the selected iPhone is connected.
And you are all set.
Conclusion
Having your Mac launch an app when you don’t need it doesn’t make sense. The guide above helps you stop the iPhoto app from automatically launching when a media device is connected to your Mac.
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Our latest tutorials delivered straight to your inbox
Sign up for all newsletters.
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and European users agree to the data transfer policy. We will not share your data and you can unsubscribe at any time. Subscribe
Mahesh Makvana
Mahesh Makvana is a freelance tech writer who’s written thousands of posts about various tech topics on various sites. He specializes in writing about Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android tech posts. He’s been into the field for last eight years and hasn’t spent a single day without tinkering around his devices.
Comments are closed