How to Disable Adobe Genuine Software Integrity Service on Mac

If you use Adobe products and have been seeing a popup message stating that the software you are using is not genuine, then you are not alone. Many have reported seeing this even though they have legitimately purchased their software from Adobe.

Users are able to click on the REMIND ME LATER button and continue on with whatever they are doing, but the message will keep popping up frequently. This can begin to be very annoying when you are trying to get something done but thankfully there is a way to disable it.

My name is Eric and I have been a software engineer for over 20 years. I have worked with many different types of software and I have seen services like this one in which they are meant to protect you but often cause more problems than they prevent.

Follow me around if you would like to see how to disable the service which creates this warning message. We will also discuss what this service is actually meant to do and whether or not it is ok to disable it.

Steps from Adobe

I believe Adobe is aware that issues do happen to some people even though they are using legitimate Adobe software. Because of this, Adobe itself has provided pretty good instructions on how to disable it by simply uninstalling AGS (Adobe Genuine Service).

Just follow the steps below and this should take care of your problem.

Step 1: In Finder, open the Applications folder and go to Utilities -> Adobe Genuine Service -> AdobeCleanUpUtility.

Step 2: Look for and double-click on the AdobeCleanUpUtility uninstaller.

Step 3: When the uninstaller popup window shows up, click on the Uninstall button.

Step 4: You will be prompted to enter your username and password. Enter the username and password that you use to log in to your Mac.

Step 5: Wait for the uninstallation to complete. AGS should be gone and you will no longer be bothered by the pop-up messages.

What if I Don’t See an Uninstall Option or It Doesn’t Work?

If you, for some reason don’t have an uninstall option available there is another way that you can remove AGS. This method involves finding the AGS application’s executable file and simply deleting it. In most cases, this method will work and disable the popup messages you see.

For this method, you can simply use Finder to locate the AdobeGCCClient folder. You can search for it or it is usually located in ApplicationSupport/Adobe. Once you find the AdobeGCCClient folder, simply delete it, and then you should also remove it from the trash.

This should end the issues you are seeing with the popup messages.

What is Adobe Genuine Software Integrity Service?

Now that you know how to disable it, you might want a little background on what it is, what it is used for, and why Adobe installs this annoying service on your Mac. Don’t worry Apple devices are not the only ones targeted. Of course, this can be found on Windows systems as well.

The Adobe Genuine Service (AGS) is a service that periodically verifies whether Adobe apps on your machine are genuine and notifies you if they are not.

As you can see from the quote above, AGS is meant to ensure that the Adobe software you are using is genuine, legitimate software that is developed and licensed by Adobe. Using software that appears to be made or licensed by Adobe but is not, could pose a number of risks.

Some of those risks include exposure to malware or viruses that can harm your computer or cause data loss or corruption. It also increases the potential of your software not working properly which neither you nor Adobe want to see happen.

And of course, Adobe does want you to purchase your software from them legally and ensure that you are not using pirated software. Doing so may not be as big a deal for you personally but if you are using it for your work, it can cause some real legal issues for your company.

With the amount of fraud out there, it is perfectly understandable that users may download and use software that they think is perfectly legitimate even though it is not. In these cases, Adobe is not trying to penalize or get you into trouble. They just want to notify you of what is going on.

With that being said, you may still be seeing these messages even though you know for a fact that your software is legitimate and has not been modified. This has been reported by many users, so you are not alone.

It seems that Adobe has come to realize this and has provided an easy uninstaller of this service so that you can easily remove it using the steps shown above.

Is It Safe to Remove the Adobe Genuine Software Integrity Service?

As mentioned above, AGS is a tool that Adobe uses to protect you from using corrupt software (and also to ensure you purchase it from them), so you might be wondering if it is even safe to uninstall this service. Do you need it to protect your computer from malware or viruses?

The quick answer is no, you do not need it. While the service does let you know if your software is not legitimate, it is not really protecting you from viruses or malware. You should use normal antivirus and antimalware software to do that. 

In the end, it is only letting you know that the software may have an issue and in many cases that we have seen, it is not even accurate. It is flagging those who are using licensed software and all it is doing is annoying those who are trying to get something done with it.

Plus, Adobe says that it is ok for you to remove the service. They state it on their website and they are even providing you with the uninstaller so that in itself tells you that there is not a problem if you wish to remove it.

Will Adobe Genuine Software Integrity Service Show up Again?

This is a great question because too often we go to the trouble to remove something like this, only to have it show up again and this can be the case with AGS. Especially if you install any more Adobe products, reinstall or update to new versions after you have removed it.

Many times when you are installing Adobe products, you will see a popup window or notification message asking if you would like to enable AGS. If you do see this, make sure that you select no or uncheck the checkbox saying that you want to install it.

If it still gets installed, you may need to go through the uninstall process once again. Just keep in mind that after installing any new Adobe software or updating it, you are likely to see this again if you are not able to opt-out of it during the installation process.

Final Words

The Adobe Genuine Software Integrity service is meant not only to ensure you purchase legal software from Adobe, but it also ensures that you are using software that has not been improperly modified or that contains malware or viruses.

Adobe is ok with you removing the service because they do have other ways to validate that you have legitimate software installed, so if you are seeing the messages from AGS and you know that your software is ok, there should be no problem with disabling this service.

I hope the information I have provided above has helped you to get rid of this sometimes annoying message. Please let me know if you have any further questions about this. As always I would love to hear from you.