What is searchpartyd on a Mac? Find My's background service
searchpartyd runs the Find My network on a Mac: finding your devices, and alerts for unknown trackers. It ran as root with 8 MB here. Why it uses network.
What is searchpartyd?
It runs the Find My network on the Mac: reporting the Mac's location if it is lost, helping nearby Apple devices and AirTags be found through encrypted reports, and checking for trackers travelling with you. It lives at /usr/libexec/searchpartyd and runs as root; ours used 8 MB and no CPU.
Why is searchpartyd using network or CPU?
It sends and receives encrypted location reports, which needs short bursts of network, and does more when many Apple devices are nearby. Sustained high use is unusual; a restart clears it.
How do I turn it off?
Turn off Find My Mac in System Settings, your name, iCloud, Find My. That stops your Mac being findable if lost, so think twice before doing it on a laptop.
Location itself comes from locationd.
See it live
Free Mac's System tab ranks every process by processor use and energy impact, once a second, and marks the ones macOS will not let you quit as protected. See also bluetoothd.
Related: rapportd and bluetoothd.
Common questions
What is searchpartyd on a Mac?
The background service for Find My: locating your devices and AirTags, and warning about unknown trackers.
Is searchpartyd safe?
Yes. It is part of macOS and lives at /usr/libexec/searchpartyd.
How do I disable searchpartyd?
Turn off Find My Mac in iCloud settings. Your Mac then cannot be located if lost.