What Is Microsoft AutoUpdate on Mac and How to Delete It

Have you noticed the Microsoft AutoUpdate application while using your Mac? Do you occasionally receive pop-up notifications from Microsoft AutoUpdate and wonder what this is? Or maybe you randomly spot the program in Activity Monitor using your Mac’s processor. It would make you wonder what Microsoft Update is and how to get it out of your Mac. But should you do it? This article will explain everything about Microsoft AutoUpdate on Mac.

Microsoft AutoUpdate is a harmless application that has only one goal: to update all Microsoft applications on your Mac. Under certain conditions, it can become an annoying horror that you want to remove from your Mac quickly. You will find out what Microsoft AutoUpdate does and how to disable or remove it from your Mac in the sections below.

What is Microsoft AutoUpdate

If you have an application developed by Microsoft (think: OneNote, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Edge, etc.) installed on your Mac, then you most likely have Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) located somewhere on your device.

Microsoft AutoUpdate has one task: to automatically update Microsoft applications on your Mac and make sure they stay up to date. Have you ever launched a Microsoft app and found that it already has a new feature? Microsoft AutoUpdate software did it.

It also installs security and bug fixes. So when this random issue that you encountered while using a Microsoft application suddenly goes away after a while, Microsoft AutoUpdate probably installed an update (in the background) which eliminated the problem.

Why and when to remove Microsoft AutoUpdate

Although Microsoft AutoUpdate is an application on its own, you won’t find it in the Launchpad or Applications folder on your Mac. So it can get really annoying when you keep getting random “ Data Required Notice ” notifications from a mysterious Microsoft AutoUpdate app.

Sometimes the app is running in the background, using an inconsiderate amount of CPU resources when you check your activity monitor.

It is getting worse. The Microsoft AutoUpdate program remains operational even if no Microsoft application is installed on your Mac. It’s a bit silly, isn’t it?

So you should remove Microsoft AutoUpdate if you have no Microsoft application and it has become a threat to your Mac’s performance.

How to remove Microsoft AutoUpdate

To completely remove Microsoft AutoUpdate from your Mac, you will need to remove both applications and other associated files. Here’s how to do it.

Note: Removing the program means that you will have to manually update all of the Microsoft applications installed on your computer.

Step 1: Launch Finder and type microsoft automatic update in the search bar.

You should see the Microsoft AutoUpdate program in the search result.

2nd step: Right-click on the Microsoft AutoUpdate program and click “Move to Trash.”

You will be prompted to enter your Mac password or to use Touch ID to authenticate the deletion.

Step 3: Select other files and folders associated with Microsoft AutoUpdate and delete them as well.

Another way to do this is to launch the “Go to Folder” tool using the Command + Shift + G shortcut from the desktop. Enter the path below in the box provided and click OK.

/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/

This will redirect you to the Microsoft Application Support folder on your Mac. This folder contains the Microsoft AutoUpdate program folder.

Open the MAU folder and move the Microsoft AutoUpdate application to Bin.

To completely remove Microsoft AutoUpdate from your computer, we recommend that you delete its associated files (see step 3 above).

Changing the configuration of Microsoft AutoUpdate

If you’d rather not remove Microsoft AutoUpdate, there are other ways to end its high CPU usage and random pop-up notifications. You can achieve this by disabling the app or revoking its notification permission.

Disable Microsoft AutoUpdate

In this sense, disabling Microsoft AutoUpdate means preventing the application from performing its primary assignment (i.e. automatically updating other Microsoft applications).

Step 1: Launch Finder and type microsoft automatic update in the search bar.

Double-click Microsoft AutoUpdate in the search results to launch the application.

2nd step: Clear the “Automatically keep Microsoft applications up to date” check box.

Step 3: Tap Disable to continue.

And that’s all. Microsoft AutoUpdate will no longer use your Mac’s processor in the background.

Revoke access to Microsoft AutoUpdate notifications

Naturally, you should no longer get random pop-ups from Microsoft AutoUpdate when it is disabled. However, you should still turn off the app’s permission to send notifications to your Mac.

Step 1: Launch System Preferences and click Notifications.

2nd step: Click on “Microsoft Update Assistant” in the left sidebar and turn off the “Allow notifications from Microsoft Update Assistant” option.

Delete or not

With this new knowledge, we hope you have a better understanding of what Microsoft AutoUpdate does on your Mac and when it should be removed or temporarily disabled. To recap, we recommend that you remove the program if no Microsoft application is installed on your computer. Otherwise, turning it off is a much better option. You can eliminate excessive CPU consumption of the app and, similarly, limit incessant pop-up notifications. Do you have more questions about Microsoft AutoUpdate? Leave a comment below, and we’ll get back to them.