NewsToday2 on Mac: what is it and can I disable it?

Last updated: 2026-07-31

What it is

NewsToday2 is a WidgetKit extension included with Apple’s built-in News.app. Its bundle identifier is com.apple.news.widget, and its executable is stored inside the News application at /System/Applications/News.app/Contents/PlugIns/NewsToday2.appex/Contents/MacOS/NewsToday2. Its job is to present an Apple News widget on the macOS desktop or in Notification Center.

The widget displays material from the Today feed. That includes Top Stories, but it is not limited to one fixed set of headlines. The feed may also contain selections based on followed channels, followed topics, and usage. Describing NewsToday2 as a process that “only downloads Top Stories” therefore leaves out part of what the widget can show.

NewsToday2 is also not a conventional background daemon that must stay active continuously. WidgetKit launches the extension as needed and gives widget extensions a limited timeline and resource budget. Apple’s WidgetKit guidance makes an important distinction here: a widget may remain visible on screen even while its extension is not actively running. Seeing NewsToday2 appear, exit, and return later is consistent with that operating model.

Why it talks to the network

Network activity can begin when a configured News widget loads for the first time or when WidgetKit asks NewsToday2 to refresh its timeline. During that work, NewsToday2 may obtain Today feed entries, headline metadata, and image assets. It may also prefetch article data in JSON form. This means the traffic is not necessarily text-only, even when the widget itself shows a compact list of stories.

System files show that the extension can access newsd services associated with the Today feed, downloads, and analytics. NewsToday2 also has CloudKit capabilities. In the wider Apple News service, iCloud may synchronize followed items, reading history, and preferences, while usage and performance information may be sent to Apple. The supported connection categories are therefore Apple News services, Apple-hosted content delivery, CloudKit, and analytics services.

That description does not establish a list of exact hostnames. No specific hostname used by NewsToday2 has been independently verified here. There is also an important process-attribution limit: an observed connection associated with a News refresh might be carried directly by NewsToday2, or some of the work might be handled by newsd. The available evidence does not determine which process carries every individual connection.

Clicking a headline opens News.app. Traffic used afterward to load the full article and its media does not necessarily belong to NewsToday2, so it should not automatically be counted as widget traffic.

How much traffic is normal

There is no published byte allowance or normal MB figure for NewsToday2. Apple has not provided extension-specific measurements, and the available research does not support a fixed threshold. A precise claim such as “NewsToday2 always uses less than 5 MB” would therefore be unverified.

In ordinary use, its traffic can range from close to zero—when no News widget is configured or no refresh is currently needed—to low-volume, short bursts during a timeline refresh. Those bursts may include images and prefetched article data as well as headline metadata. Normal NewsToday2 activity would generally be expected to remain clearly below the volume of video streaming or downloading a complete magazine, but that comparison is not a byte limit.

It is equally inaccurate to promise that the traffic is “always tiny.” Widget contents, refresh timing, images, and any prefetching can vary. The defensible way to describe its normal pattern is intermittent and probably low in typical conditions, with no verified universal MB range.

Can you turn it off

NewsToday2 is optional if you do not use the Apple News widget. Apple does not provide a dedicated System Settings switch for this widget extension, so there is no valid settings path to list.

To stop the widget from being displayed and periodically refreshed, Control-click a News widget on the desktop and select Remove Widget. Check Notification Center as well by opening it from the date and time in the menu bar, then remove any News widget found there. Every instance must be removed; leaving one configured instance means WidgetKit may still request updates for it.

After removal, the desktop and Notification Center will no longer show or periodically refresh those News widgets. News.app itself continues to work normally, so removing the widget does not disable the application.

Force-quitting NewsToday2 is not a permanent off switch. If a News widget remains configured, WidgetKit can launch the extension again when another timeline update is needed. Deleting the executable, disabling System Integrity Protection, or modifying system files is unnecessary.

What people get wrong

• “NewsToday2 is malware.” It is not. NewsToday2 is an Apple system extension supplied inside News.app. Local system metadata identifies its bundle as com.apple.news.widget.

• “NewsToday2 is a system daemon that runs all the time.” It is a WidgetKit extension, not a traditional continuously running daemon. WidgetKit starts it according to timeline needs and resource budgets. The widget can stay visible while the extension is inactive.

• “Turning off News notifications disables NewsToday2.” Notification permissions and widget configuration are separate. Disabling News notifications does not remove a News widget from the desktop or Notification Center. The widget instances themselves must be removed.

• “I need to delete NewsToday2, disable SIP, or edit macOS system files.” None of those actions is required. As long as a News widget remains configured, the system can start the extension again. Removing all News widgets is the supported way to stop their display and periodic updates.

• “NewsToday2 only downloads a fixed Top Stories list.” Top Stories is part of Today, but Today may also include content selected from followed channels, followed topics, and usage. The widget’s feed should not be treated as one fixed headline package.

Seeing what it actually used

Because Apple does not publish a byte range for NewsToday2, the next useful step is to measure it on the Mac where the activity occurred. Bytetally’s per-process statistics can show how much traffic was attributed to NewsToday2 over the period you select. Keep the possible division of work with newsd in mind when interpreting the result.

Related processes

Common questions