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I have a third party radio app that I listen to all the time. Then I want to visit a website which has sound (or a game).

Is there a way to mute sound from one application on macOS ?

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6 Answers 6

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80

There's a nice open source app, BackgroundMusic, that provides for per app volume control in OSX10.10+:

enter image description here

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  • 2
    Really love this app. (Just note that after first installing, my experience was I needed to relaunch open apps for them to be affected.)
    – LordParsley
    Mar 26, 2018 at 10:18
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    Mac has tons of software that comes pre installed and i cannot do this basic function without installing an app...
    – Xitcod13
    Sep 22, 2019 at 2:21
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    Oh FFS. This is a standard feature of windows.
    – dwjohnston
    Sep 30, 2020 at 1:22
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    Note that Background Music may have to be selected to be the "output device" (or something similar) from within the options of the app that you are trying to adjust the volume.
    – iled
    Oct 8, 2020 at 20:58
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    @Sofia my comment is an expression of frustration. you cannot do this by default
    – Xitcod13
    Jun 1, 2022 at 20:57
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Finally something that works like in windows

Screenshot

Volume Mixer for Mac lives in your menu bar. With simple features like muting apps by double clicking and detaching an app from the master volume by right clicking, Volume Mixer is easy to learn and simple to use.

http://www.volumemixer-app.com/

Sadly not for free but it seems to have been harder work than you think, so support the devs!

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    I sadly muss add this note: It's not that stable it should be. But it's worth a try!
    – CodeBrauer
    Mar 15, 2016 at 9:35
  • it was discontinued
    – Gismo Ranas
    Apr 7, 2022 at 12:08
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Audio Hijack Pro allows you to mute sound from any application. It is actually for recording an application, but you can mute applications as well. You can use the demo to just mute the sound. You shouldn't have to purchase a license.
Here's a screenshot. As you can see, the controls are at the top. Audio Hijack Pro

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Also take a look at Hear, a systemwide Audio program that does mixing, EQ, etc.

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SoundSource is good paid application ($40) that allows volume controls per application and also allows sound device selection per application.

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-7

Perhaps I'm missing something here (emphasis mine):

Is there a way to mute sound from an application?

If you are looking to simply mute quickly across applications, couldn't you just use the 🔈 key (I know, the emoji is not an accurate representation of the key, but it's the thought that counts, right?)

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    OP asked for a way to mute individual applications. Not all at the same time. ;)
    – Gerome Bochmann
    Jul 29, 2016 at 8:54

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