Tue May 12 2026, 11:41 AM EDT · 1 minute read It's too late to just update ChatGPT, you now have to re-download it from the developer There have been some incidents involving a Mac telling a user that the ChatGPT app is malware and moving it to the trash. Overall, ChatGPT isn't malware, and there's a very easy fix. This is not Apple making a judgement on the value of the ChatGPT app on the Mac, it's macOS doing its job. Since 2022 , macOS has included Xprotect, a feature you never usually need to know about, but which safeguards the Mac against malware. In this case, as reported by users worldwide on social media , Xprotect had concluded that the ChatGPT app contained malware. Therefore the whole app is suspect, therefore macOS moves it to the Trash and won't launch it. There is nothing wrong with ChatGPT and it will not have installed malware on users' Macs. To continue using it, the simplest way is to reinstall ChatGPT directly from the developer .…