That Red Badge on the App Store
Updating Mac Apps, Explained

A Mac Updates Apps in Three Different Places

That's the whole reason this feels confusing, and nobody ever sat you down and said it. Apps you got from the App Store update inside the App Store — Apple's instructions are two steps long: click Updates in the sidebar, then click Update All. Apps you downloaded from the web — Chrome, Zoom, Microsoft Word, printer software — never appear there at all; they update themselves, usually quietly, sometimes with a small window when you open them. And macOS itself, the Mac's own software, is a third errand entirely, over in System Settings > General > Software Update.

Once you know which lane an app is in, none of this is hard. An update is a repair, not a redesign — it swaps the app for a corrected copy and leaves your files, photos, settings and bookmarks exactly where they were. It never costs money. And it never, ever arrives as a window in your web browser, which is the other half of what this page is about. The oldest trick on the internet is a pop-up that says your software is dangerously out of date, and it works precisely because updating really is something you're supposed to do.

Clear Those Updates in Two Minutes

1. Open the App Store from the Dock — the blue circle with the white “A.” You can also click the Apple menu at the top-left, where the number of updates is shown right next to App Store.
2. Click Updates in the sidebar on the left. The number beside it is how many are waiting.
3. Read the list, or don't. Each app shows a short note about what changed. Skimming is fine.
4. Click Update next to one app — or Update All to do the whole list at once.
5. Wait. Most take seconds; big apps take a few minutes. On a laptop, plug in the charger if the list is long.
6. If an app was open while it updated, quit it and open it again. Nothing is lost either way.
7. Done. The red badge clears itself.

The Setting That Makes That Chore Disappear

In the App Store, choose App Store > Settings from the menu bar at the top of the screen, then turn on Automatic Updates. That's Apple's own instruction, word for word, and it's the single best five seconds in this guide — your Mac downloads and installs App Store app updates on its own from then on. The other switches on that screen are optional: “Automatically download apps purchased on other devices” puts iPhone and iPad apps on your Mac too (I leave it off — less clutter), and Video Autoplay and In-App Ratings just make the store noisier. For macOS itself, there's a matching set in System Settings > General > Software Update — click the small info button next to Automatic Updates. I'd leave Install Security Responses and system files turned on for everybody; those are the small, quiet fixes that matter most.

Why the App Store Wants Your Apple Account

• Every app is tied to an account — free ones included. That's the same email and password you use for iCloud. Apple renamed it from “Apple ID” a while back; same account, newer name.
• It's how updates find you. Apple's guide says it plainly: the App Store keeps track of updates for apps you got with your Apple Account. No sign-in, no update list.
• You never buy anything twice. A paid app stays attached to your account — new Mac, reinstalled Mac, doesn't matter. Redownloads are free.
• If it says “Sign In” instead of your name, click it at the bottom-left of the App Store window and enter your Apple Account.
• Don't create a second account in a moment of frustration. Purchases don't move between accounts, and this is far and away the messiest thing that happens in this area. Recovering the old account is nearly always possible and always better.

Free, Paid, and the Password Prompts

• “Get” means free. A price means a one-time purchase. A cloud with an arrow means you already own it and this is a free redownload. “Update” is always free.
• “In-App Purchases” under the button is where surprise charges come from — a free app that sells things inside, sometimes a subscription with a trial that quietly renews.
• Two different password prompts exist. Your Apple Account password (your email is shown) is for App Store downloads. Your Mac login password is for installing things from outside the App Store or changing settings.
• You can change how often it asks. System Settings > [your name] > Media & Purchases lets you choose Always Require or Require After 15 Minutes for purchases, with a separate setting for free downloads.
• Touch ID changes the rules. Apple notes that if you've turned on Touch ID for purchases you won't see that menu at all — and you'll be asked for a fingerprint on every download, even free ones.
• You can't switch password protection off entirely for paid items on a Mac. That's Apple's design, and it's the right one.
• The rule that keeps you safe: type your password when you started something. A box that appears out of nowhere gets nothing.

Apps That Never Show Up in the App Store

• Safari — comes with macOS. Updates arrive through System Settings > Software Update.
• Google Chrome / Firefox — Chrome menu > About Google Chrome, or Firefox menu > About Firefox. Both usually update themselves quietly.
• Zoom — zoom.us menu > Check for Updates. Often prompts when you launch it.
• Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook — Help > Check for Updates. Microsoft's own AutoUpdate handles it.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader — Help > Check for Updates.
• Printer software — most printers need nothing downloaded at all on a modern Mac. Be wary of “driver update” websites; use the maker's real support page and your exact model number.
• The rule for all of them: an update offer that appears inside the app itself is real. An update offer that appears in your web browser is not — no matter whose logo is on it.
• Never install an “updater” tool. Driver updaters, Mac cleaners, optimizers — at best unnecessary, at worst the problem itself.

The Fake Update Pop-Up, and How to Close It

1. Know it instantly: it's in your web browser. Apple's own advice is direct — if you see a pop-up while browsing that warns about security problems or viruses on your device, don't believe it.
2. It has a phone number. Apple doesn't put support numbers in pop-ups, and Apple's guidance on unsolicited calls from “Apple Support” is simply to hang up.
3. It's in a hurry. Countdowns, sirens, flashing red. Real software has never once been urgent about anything.
4. It names something extinct — “Flash Player update required” is the classic. Adobe stopped supporting Flash at the end of 2020.
5. Don't click anything inside the window — not Cancel, not the X. Every button can be the same button.
6. Close the tab with Command-W, or quit the browser with Command-Q. If it won't close: Apple menu > Force Quit, pick the browser, click Force Quit.
7. Reopen the browser and decline to restore your tabs — that's what brings the pop-up back.
8. Never call the number and never let anyone connect to your Mac. That's where the real damage happens — not on the pop-up screen itself.

What to Keep Current, and What Can Wait

Update promptly: your web browser, anything that touches money, your password manager, and video-calling apps like Zoom. Those are the front doors. Security fixes for macOS too — they're small and fast by design. What can wait a few weeks: games, photo editors, hobby software, and anything that just shows you information. And a brand-new version of macOS is a different decision altogether — that one deserves a backup first and a couple of weeks of patience, because there's no prize for being first. You're allowed to say “not right now.” Clicking Later on an update notification isn't negligence. Nobody has ever gotten in trouble for taking a week to think about an update; plenty of folks have gotten in trouble for clicking a button on a web page because it looked official and sounded urgent.

What's in the 27-page PDF

• What an update actually is — and the four things it does not do
• The whole guide in six checkboxes, for the folks who want one page
• The three update lanes in one table: App Store, the app's own updater, macOS Software Update
• A tour of the App Store window, and why the same number shows up in three places
• Updating by hand, step by step — plus turning on Automatic Updates and what every other switch does
• Why the App Store wants your Apple Account, and the one mistake that scatters your purchases
• Apple Account password vs. Mac login password vs. Touch ID — which prompt is which
• Free, paid, in-app purchases and subscriptions: where surprise charges really come from
• Where each common app hides its update check — Chrome, Zoom, Word, Acrobat, printer software
• macOS itself: Software Update, security responses, and update vs. upgrade
• Fake update pop-ups, a real-vs-fake comparison table, and the two sentences worth memorizing
• When an update misbehaves, a monthly ten-minute routine for the refrigerator, Q&A, glossary and a fill-in cheat sheet

Why I wrote this

“There's a red number on my App Store and I don't know what it wants” is a question I'm genuinely happy to get, because the answer is short and the fix is free. What I'd rather people never call about is the other one — the pop-up that said their Mac was dangerously out of date and gave them a number to call. Those two things live next door to each other in most people's minds, and separating them is most of what this guide does. I write these as printable handouts so the checklist can sit next to the Mac, and the scam pages double as handouts for senior-center talks around Portage County. If you'd rather have company for the setup, that's a flat $99 visit with a 30-day follow-up included. — Bill