What is spindump on Mac?

spindump records what an app was doing when it stopped responding: the spinning wait cursor moments. It's part of macOS and safe.

Key points

• spindump takes a snapshot of every process when an app hangs.
• It's busy right after an app hangs; it finishes quickly.
• Quitting it doesn't help for long: macOS starts it again.

What spindump does

When an app stops responding, or you force quit one, spindump samples what every process was doing at that moment and writes a hang report. The reports stay on your Mac, and are sent to Apple and the app's developer only if you've chosen to share analytics in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements.

Why is spindump using so much CPU?

Right after an app hangs; it finishes quickly. If it keeps coming back, an app keeps hanging: that app is the one to update, restart or replace. How to force quit on a Mac covers stuck apps.

In one reading of a MacBook Pro (M1 Max, 64 GB) on October 10, 2026, spindump was running, but as a system process it can be measured only with administrator permission, which that reading didn't have.

Can I quit spindump?

Stopping it doesn't help for long: macOS starts it again when it's needed.

How to check it

1. Open Activity Monitor: press Command-Space, type "Activity Monitor" and press Return.
2. Type spindump in the search field at the top right.
3. Look at % CPU and Memory.

Questions

Is spindump a virus?

No. spindump is part of macOS: it writes reports when apps stop responding.

Why is spindump using high CPU?

An app just stopped responding, and spindump is recording what happened. It finishes within moments; if it keeps returning, an app keeps hanging.

Does spindump send data to Apple?

Only if you've chosen to share analytics in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements. Otherwise its reports stay on your Mac.