App Trust Preview - Check Apps before opening

[IGHOR]

I made App Trust Preview app that helps you understand a Mac app before you open it.

In plain language, not developer jargon, it shows what macOS can verify about an app's identity, protections, permissions, and internal components. The goal is simple: help you decide whether opening an app looks reasonable.

Everything happens locally:

• Inspects .app bundles entirely on your Mac
• Never uploads the inspected app
• Never launches the inspected app
• Never modifies the inspected app
• Makes no network requests of its own
• Uses macOS's own trust system for certificate revocation checks

You can:

• Drop an app onto the window
• Choose an app from Finder
• Select a .app bundle in Finder and press Space to use the included Quick Look preview

Each report starts with a clear verdict:

• Looks safe to open
• Use caution
• Strong reasons to think twice

The report shows:

• The most important findings before you open the app
• Whether the app is signed and who signed it
• Developer name, Team ID, bundle identifier, and version
• Whether the app uses App Sandbox
• Whether Hardened Runtime is enabled
• Whether the signing certificate appears revoked
• Whether the app declares outgoing network access
• Whether the app may ask for privacy access
• Whether internal helpers are signed and sandboxed

Privacy access it may ask for includes:

• Camera
• Microphone
• Location
• Contacts
• Calendar
• Photos
• Bluetooth
• Apple Events
• USB
• Other sensitive capabilities

If an app has not declared the required purpose string in its Info.plist, macOS will refuse to grant that permission. App Trust Preview shows that clearly instead of turning it into unnecessary fear.

App Trust Preview also explains what declared capabilities mean, including:

• Internet
• Files and folders
• Privacy
• Other apps
• iCloud
• Keychain
• App groups
• Associated domains
• Hardened Runtime exceptions

Inside the app, it checks components such as:

• Helper tools
• Nested apps
• App extensions
• XPC services
• Frameworks
• Dynamic libraries
• Plug-ins

Each component is checked for signing status and sandbox state. This helps reveal cases where a main app is sandboxed, but bundled helper programs are not.

Advanced details for power users include:

• Certificate chain
• Certificate fingerprints
• Certificate validity dates
• CDHashes
• Designated requirement
• Embedded provisioning profile
• Mach-O architectures
• Linked libraries
• Entitlements

Export and share reports as:

• PDF
• PNG image
• JSON
• Plain text

App Trust Preview is not antivirus and does not guarantee that an app is safe or malware-free. It shows macOS security signals that can be verified from an app bundle on disk and explains what those signals mean in everyday words.

You do not need to know what "Hardened Runtime", "entitlements", or code-signing output means. App Trust Preview explains the practical result: what the app can access, what macOS will block, where protections are strong, and where you may want to look closer.

Find App Trust Preview in the Mac App Store or visit https://apptrustpreview.com

 

[bogdanw]

Saying "Use caution" "The main app is not sandboxed" for Firefox is a bit misleading.
https://wiki.mozilla.org/Security/Sandbox#OSX

 

[IGHOR]

Thanks for the feedback!

I agree, Firefox is a good example where the wording needs more nuance.

What the app currently means is: Firefox is not using Apple’s App Sandbox entitlement. That does not mean Firefox has no sandboxing at all, because browsers can have their own process sandboxing model.

I am open to feature requests and wording improvements. What wording would you expect here so it is technically accurate but not misleading for apps like Firefox?