What is parsecd?

2016-12-12 17:00

You might spot a process called parsecd in Activity Monitor or in a firewall log. It is a normal macOS system process.

What does it do?

parsecd is short for "Parsec daemon". It powers the Siri Suggestions and smart features in macOS. The process looks at data on your device (calendar events, emails, contacts, app usage) to offer suggestions like recommended contacts, places, and actions.

For example, when Spotlight suggests a contact before you finish typing, or when Siri suggests an app at a certain time of day, parsecd is behind it.

Does it send data to Apple?

The work happens on your Mac. Apple built the Parsec system to process data locally rather than on their servers. That said, parsecd does make some network connections, which is why you might see it in a firewall tool like Little Snitch.

Can you turn it off?

There is no direct switch for parsecd, but you can reduce its work by turning off Siri Suggestions:

Open System Settings, then Siri & Spotlight.
Turn off Suggestions in Spotlight and other Siri Suggestions switches.

This limits what parsecd looks at, though the process may still run in the background.

Should you worry?

No. It is a normal macOS process. If it is using a lot of CPU, it is likely building its index after a system update or after you added new data. It settles down on its own.

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