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lanminho
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

WhatsApp app opens on its own on MacBook Air M4 after login

Upon logging in to my locked personal profile on my MacBook Air M4, Golden Gate 27.0.1, a last active screen was shown, but in the split of a second, WhatsApp app screen that wasn't even the last active screen opened up on its own?


This was the behavior I was confronted with just a couple of mins ago.


What could cause this?


Literally just logged in to my profile on MacBook and that's all. As soon as the last active screen in Chrome showed up upon logging in, the screen of WhatsApp app opened up on its own, even though it wasn't the last active screen.


When I tried to reverse engineer the issue, it didn't repeat.


Anyone experienced anything similar?

Posted on Oct 16, 2026 9:43 AM

2 replies

Phil0124
User level: Level 10 (242,520 points)

Oct 16, 2026 9:59 AM in response to lanminho

Any open apps left when you shutdown the computer will be re-opened when you log back in if the option to Close Windows when quitting an application is not turned on in System Settings ➜ Desktop & Dock ➜ Windows


Beyond that, Whatsapp can also open on start up if it's set as a Login item in System Settings ➜ General ➜ Login Items & Extensions.

lanminho Author
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

Oct 16, 2026 10:06 AM in response to Phil0124

I didn't restart my laptop, or shut it down. It was in sleep mode. I logged back in, and WhatsApp app open even though it wasn't the last active screen before the laptop went to sleep mode. It was the Chrome window that appearead right after logging back in for 2 secs, and then the WhatsApp screen immediately followed, without even opening it on my own.



Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256377371