When you’re using your Mac, it is normal to notice spikes in the usage of some processes. However, these increases in CPU and memory usage usually resolve on their own after some time and everything goes back to normal. Most of the time, you don’t have to do anything about it because it will flatten out or go back to its normal curve later on.
One of the processes Mac users usually have a problem with is the apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.Service. Several users noted that apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.Service is eating RAM and memory resources more than the usual. In some cases, the usage rises up to 98% or even 100%, rendering their Mac unusable because it is no longer responding.
This issue has caused a lot of frustration to the affected user because they don’t know what’s causing the increase in usage. Sometimes it happens out of the blue, even when you’re just browsing the internet. It often goes unnoticed because the user will only find out something is wrong when your Mac becomes extremely slow or your screen freezes. And when Activity Monitor is checked, the user discovers that apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.Service is taking up memory on Mac.
If the usage spike continues for several minutes and it is affecting the performance of your Mac, you need to find out the reason why apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.Service is eating RAM and CPU resources excessively and try to bring it down to normal levels.
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What Is Apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.Service on Mac?
Ordinary Mac users are not really familiar with the Apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.Service, even though they have been using their Macs for years. This is normal because you can’t expect users to know each and every macOS process.
Apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.Service or the Safari Safe Browsing is a security feature that protects your privacy and safeguards your data when browsing the internet. It flags websites that are known to be malicious in nature.
When this feature is turned on when you visit a website, Safari checks the URL against a database of known malicious websites and a warning is displayed if the website you are trying to visit is suspected of fraudulent activities, such as malvertising or phishing.
However, this feature became controversial in the later part of 2019 because it seemed like apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.Service is sending the user’s information, including IP address to Google or Tencent. Tencent is a Chinese company that works like Facebook, and it owns the WeChat mobile app. This has raised security concerns among Safari users who are paranoid about their online security.
However, Apple denied these accusations and said that the actual URL of the website you are trying to visit and your IP address is not shared with these companies.
Why Is Apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.Service Using Up Memory and RAM?
The apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.Service taking up memory on Mac is a huge puzzle for most affected users. Sometimes the spike happens even though they are not trying to visit any URL and it also happens when Safari is closed. This makes them suspect the apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.Service to be malicious.
In most cases, apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.Service is eating RAM and CPU resources due to corruption in the Safari browser itself, particularly with the files related to the Safari Safe Browsing feature. Malware is the most common culprit that causes corruption in macOS. If this is the case, you need to scan your computer for any presence of malware and get rid of it completely.
This scenario can also happen when your Safari browser is outdated and does not work well with macOS. This is particularly true for those who have upgraded their macOS to Catalina or Big Sur.
What To Do If Apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.Service Is Using Up Memory
If your Mac’s apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.Service is consuming too much memory or CPU resources, you need to get it back to normal levels to prevent further issues. Here are some of the steps you need to take:
Step 1. Close Safari.
Sometimes this problem is caused by a temporary bug and goes away after restarting your browser. You need to completely close Safari by clicking Safari > Quit Safari from the top menu or pressing Command + Q. You can also use the Force Quit menu if Safari is not responding. Once you have completely quit Safari, click its icon from the Dock to launch it again and see if apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.Service is no longer causing trouble.
Step 2. Restart Your Mac.
If restarting your Safari browser did not help, you need to take it a step further by rebooting your Mac. Close all running apps and click Apple menu > Restart, or simply press the power button, then press it again to turn it back on. Once you have restarted macOS, open Safari again and check if apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.Service is still causing trouble.
Step 3. Disable Safari Safe Browsing.
If this error is causing you too much trouble and you’re quite confident that the websites you are visiting are safe, you can disable this feature using the steps below:
- Open Safari, then click Safari from the top menu.
- Choose Preferences, click on the Security button.
- Uncheck the Warn when visiting a fraudulent website option.
Restart Safari and check if the issue has disappeared.
Step 4: Clean Up Your Mac.
Corrupted files and malware can cause various errors on your Mac, including processes consuming too much computer resources. You need to clean up your computer with a reliable Mac cleaner to delete corrupted and unnecessary files on your computer. You should also run a scan of your macOS to detect and delete any threats.
Step 5: Update Safari.
If your Safari version is outdated, it might be having trouble working with your updated OS, so you need to update it. Check the Mac App Store and check the Updates tab to see if there is a pending update for Safari. If there is, install it immediately and restart your browser.
Final Thoughts
Apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.Service using up memory is a simple problem that can be easily resolved by following the instructions above. If all of them fail, you need to reinstall Safari and see if this finally fixes your problem.