Two copies of Hailo are on this Mac

Spot an older copy of Hailo still on your Mac, let Hailo trash it, or remove it by hand.

Updated September 2, 2026

Two Hailo icons in the Dock, a bug you know was fixed, or an update that installs and then opens the old version anyway. An older copy of Hailo is on this Mac and it is the one opening.

The symptoms

  • Two Hailo icons in the Dock or Launchpad.
  • Features from the release notes are missing, or a fixed bug is back.
  • The version in More is older than the one on hailo.studio/download, but no Update tile appears.
  • An update seems to install, then the old version opens again.

Why

Hailo can be installed in the main Applications folder or in your own user Applications folder. Install it in both, or move it once, and you have two apps. Whichever one you click is the one that runs, so an update to the copy you never open changes nothing.

Let Hailo do it

Every launch, Hailo checks both standard places. If the other copy is strictly older than the one you opened, it asks Finder to move that copy to the Trash. macOS asks once whether Hailo may control Finder. Allow it and the old copy goes.

Hailo never trashes the copy you are running, never trashes a newer copy, and never runs this check when it was opened from a disk image or from Downloads.

If you decline the Finder permission, Hailo shows this once for that copy:

"An older copy of Hailo is still on this Mac, and opening it will run an out-of-date version. Finder will now show it. Drag that one to the Trash. The copy you are using right now is the current one."

Click Show me, drag that copy to the Trash, empty the Trash, and keep using the Hailo that is open. The message does not repeat for the same copy.

Remove it by hand

  1. Quit Hailo.
  2. In Finder, open Applications and look for Hailo.
  3. Choose Go > Go to Folder, paste ~/Applications, and look there too.
  4. Select each copy and press ⌘I (Get Info). Compare the Version lines.
  5. Drag the lower version to the Trash. If the versions match, keep the one in the main Applications folder.
  6. Empty the Trash.
  7. Open Hailo from the main Applications folder. If a Dock icon still points at the trashed copy, remove it from the Dock and drag the remaining Hailo there.

If it didn't work

Finder says the old copy is in use. It is still running. Quit both Hailo windows, choose Quit Time Agent from the menu bar icon, then try again.

Hailo keeps reporting an older copy after you trashed it. Empty the Trash. Finder counts a trashed app as present until then.

Both copies show the same version. Keep the one in the main Applications folder and trash the other.

More detail is in Two copies of Hailo under Desktop app.

  • Two copies of HailoRecognise when an older copy of Hailo is still on your Mac, read the one-time message Hailo shows, and remove the old copy by hand.
  • UpdatesInstall a new version of Hailo from the Update tile in one click, with no password and no download to drag, and know what to do if an update fails.
  • VersionsFind which version of Hailo you are running, understand why Manage and Deliver can be newer than it, and read the release notes.
  • Install and first launchWhat happens the first time Hailo opens, and why opening it a second time brings the running copy forward instead of starting another.
  • An update failedRetry a failed update, free the disk space that usually caused it, and reinstall from the download page if you have to.
  • Edit won't open or shows Reconnecting to the editorWork out why the Edit wing is stuck on a holding screen, and get it open again in a few steps.
Still stuck? Send a note from the contact page and a real person at Hailo answers. Include the studio name you signed up with and, if it is about a specific screen, what you clicked.
Contact support