Macs have unique touchpads that are much more advanced than most competitors. However, they occasionally experience issues that cause them to right-click continuously, even if you’re not touching the pad or the mouse. Fortunately, there are plenty of solutions to this common Mac issue.

To stop your Mac from right-clicking, follow these steps:

Go to the Settings menu and look for the Trackpad options. Hit the Apple icon on your laptop or desktop to open the menu, then type ‘Mouse’ or ‘Pad’ to pull up the trackpad. You can also access this menu by choosing your computer preferences on the Apple icon near the top-left side of the screen.
Find the primary clicking option, then set it to left-click. According to Laptop Mag, this will ensure the basic single-click option on your trackpad will act as a left-click. This means you won’t have to worry about your Mac opening right-click menus or scrolling uncontrollably whenever you touch the pad or mouse.
Decide how you want to right-click on the Mac (you can also change your mouse’s settings to switch the right-click and left-click). Most people prefer double-tapping the trackpad to right-clicking. Macs let you choose between tapping and clicking and customize your right-click and left-click options.
Clean the edges of the trackpad with a toothpick to remove excess debris. Gently run the toothpick around the pad, collecting oils, hair, and other gunk that naturally collects around the laptop. It would be best if you also did this to each key on the keyboard to ensure they don’t get stuck.
Wipe the trackpad with a soft microfiber cloth weekly. This step ensures no debris can get clogged around the trackpad or keyboard. It’s more of a preventative step than a repair method, but it’s more than worth it if you don’t want to keep dealing with your Mac right-clicking all the time.

While this problem is common, it’s not very difficult to stop or prevent. Thankfully, Apple made it easy to change your Mac’s clicking settings.

Make sure you check the trackpad settings every time you update your computer. In some situations, the right-click and left-click options can get changed, which causes the Mac to keep right-clicking.

Why Does Your Mac Keep Right Clicking?

Your Mac keeps right-clicking because there’s debris around the trackpad. The primary clicking method is set to ‘Right-Click,’ or there’s a software issue. Additionally, you might accidentally double-tap or click the pad with two fingers, two of the most common user errors.

Let’s take a look at each of these issues:

Dirty trackpads prevent the button from decompressing. When you click or tap the mousepad, it won’t come back up for a while if there’s debris holding it back. This is quite common if you don’t clean the trackpad. Your hands have oils that can hold the pad. Spilling something or dropping crumbs on your Mac is much worse.
An incorrect clicking method will make you accidentally right-click instead of left-click. As mentioned above, it’s important to choose to left-click as the primary clicking option. Furthermore, you must ensure that your Mac isn’t set to click when you tap it if you’re prone to running your hand over the trackpad.
Some third-party apps can interfere with or change your Mac’s settings. If you recently installed or downloaded something from the internet and your Mac can’t stop right-clicking, uninstall the program. Test your trackpad to see if it stops after getting rid of the download. If this works, the third-party app is the culprit.
You might need to adjust your right-click settings on your mouse. While most software problems involve your Mac, many computer mice have unique software settings. For example, you can switch the left-click and right-click on your mouse, which means you’ll always right-click if both sides are set to the same thing.

According to Apple Toolbox, you might only need to reset your Mac to stop the right-clicking issue. Hold the power button, then choose ‘Restart’ or manually power it off and back on. You might be prompted to update your operating system when you restart your Mac, which could be enough to fix the problem.