macOS utilizes virtual desktops called “Spaces” to help you organize your workflow. By default, Apple enables a feature that automatically shifts your active Space to whichever one contains an open window for the application you just clicked. For example, if you are in Space 1 and click the Safari icon in your Dock, but your only open Safari window is in Space 3, macOS will violently swipe your entire screen over to Space 3.
While intended to be helpful, this auto-switching behavior is incredibly disorienting for power users who deliberately organize different projects into different Spaces. If you prefer your Mac to simply open a new Safari window in your current Space rather than hijacking your screen and throwing you across your virtual desktops, you can disable this automatic switching.
How to Stop macOS from Auto-Switching Spaces
You can turn off this aggressive workspace management directly from the Desktop & Dock settings.
- Click the Apple Logo in the top-left corner of your Mac’s screen.
- Select System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions).
- Scroll down the left-hand navigation sidebar and click on Desktop & Dock.
- Scroll down the main window on the right until you find the section titled Mission Control.
- Locate the toggle switch labelled When switching to an application, switch to a Space with open windows for the application.
- Click the toggle switch to turn it Off.
Moving forward, clicking an application icon in your Dock will keep you firmly planted in your current Space. If the application does not have a window open in your active Space, it will simply become the active application in the menu bar, allowing you to press Cmd+N to open a fresh window exactly where you are.