How to Mute One App on Mac Without Affecting Other Audio

The Problem: macOS Doesn't Let You Mute Individual Apps

You're listening to music on Spotify when a YouTube ad starts blaring, or Chrome tabs begin auto-playing videos while you're on a work call. Your instinct is to mute just that one annoying app — but macOS doesn't have a built-in way to do this.

Unlike Windows, which has included a volume mixer since Vista, macOS forces you to either mute everything or live with the audio chaos. Here's how to finally get per-app mute control on your Mac.

Why macOS Lacks Individual App Muting

Apple designed macOS with a simplified audio model where system volume controls everything globally. While this works for basic use cases, it falls apart when you need granular control over multiple audio sources.

The result? You end up frantically switching between apps to pause videos, lower Chrome volume, or quit noisy applications just to focus on what you actually want to hear.

Method 1: Use Soundish for Complete Per-App Audio Control

The most comprehensive solution is Soundish, which adds the volume mixer macOS should have included from the start.

What Soundish offers:

• Mute any app instantly without affecting others
• Per-app volume control from 0-200%
• Route different apps to different outputs (speakers vs headphones)
• Save audio profiles to quickly restore your preferred settings
• Control multi-process apps like Chrome, Brave, and Edge

How to mute an app with Soundish:

1. Install Soundish and complete the one-time audio driver setup
2. Click the Soundish menu bar icon
3. Find the app you want to mute in the list
4. Click the mute button next to its volume slider
5. The app is now silent while everything else continues playing

Soundish costs significantly less than alternatives like SoundSource ($49) while providing the core features most people actually need.

Method 2: Use macOS Activity Monitor (Limited)

For a free but clunky approach, you can force-quit the audio process:

1. Open Activity Monitor (Applications → Utilities)
2. Search for the app name
3. Select the process and click "Quit Process"
4. Choose "Force Quit" if needed

This completely closes the app rather than just muting it, which isn't ideal if you want to keep using the app without its audio.

Method 3: App-Specific Solutions

For Chrome/Safari tabs:

• Right-click the tab and select "Mute Tab"
• Look for speaker icons in browser tabs
• Use browser extensions like "AutoMute" for Chrome

For media apps:

• Most music apps have their own mute buttons
• Video apps usually have pause/mute controls
• Some apps allow disabling sound effects in preferences

Limitations: This requires remembering different methods for each app and doesn't work for system sounds or apps without built-in mute options.

Method 4: System Preferences Audio Tweaks

1. Go to System Settings → Sound
2. Click "Sound Effects"
3. Reduce or disable alert sounds and UI sounds
4. Uncheck "Play feedback when volume is changed"

This only affects system sounds, not individual applications.

When You Need More Than Just Muting

If you find yourself constantly adjusting audio levels, you might benefit from complete per-app audio control. Beyond muting, you can:

• Route Discord to headphones while keeping Spotify on speakers
• Boost quiet app audio up to 200% without affecting others
• Save audio profiles for different work scenarios
• Control volume for multiple Chrome processes independently

The Bottom Line

While macOS doesn't include per-app muting by default, tools like Soundish fill this gap effectively. For occasional use, browser tab muting might suffice. But if audio chaos is a daily frustration, investing in proper per-app audio control pays off quickly.

The ability to mute one app without affecting your music, calls, or other audio should be standard — and now it can be.