macOS Sequoia Will Require Users to Update Screen Recording App Permissions Monthly

[Carlson-online]

There’s a lot of over reaction here.

The message shows for apps not using the correct API to ask for sharing.

Once apps use the correct api, the message won’t appear. This is why we have these betas , so developers can update their apps.

can we get the original article updated to reflect this ?

 

[contacos]

How very Windows Vista of them. Right now I get this 💩 every time I reboot the computer and launch an App

 

[betelgeusecz]

Wrong. Security through obscurity.

 

[rp2011]

This just begs for a third-party app that would automatically grant that permission monthly for you In background

Yep, one that also asks for all your bank and credit card pins too and takes care of everything in the background. That would be so helpful.

 

[philipmv]

My have the tables turned in less than 20 years…

Mac vs. PC - Cancel or Allow?

 

[cyrrus]

This will be a nightmare unless you can click 'accept' without having to close the app.

Joining a zoom/teams/meet call and awkwardly going 'oh, sorry be right back. I have to give permissions and QUIT and re-open, and re-join the meeting is completely insane.

If you can just give permissions without restarting apps then... fine... I guess?

+1 for terminal command to make it permanent.

 

[GruberHans]

If you try to share screen when on a Slack Huddle or Zoom/Teams call, and the app your using doesn’t have screen recording permissions, you have to quit the app and re-open which means leaving your meeting and re-joining. I hope this won’t be the case when needing to allow an app to continue screen recording.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Every year, with more and more MacBook Air’s being bought by folks that barely understand Safari, the percentage of power users is decreasing. All of Apple’s focus is on this huge number of people. Anyone that could possibly do their work on not-macOS would do themselves a service by at least starting to look into the pain involved to move to a platform that’s NOT focused on protecting non-power users.

We’ve seen this story before. It’s not going to get any better than it is right now.

 

[TinyMito]

Are they doing this due they are afraid some app security wasn't enough and could have gone rogue or exploited from third party apps?

 

[koelsh]

There’s a lot of over reaction here.

The message shows for apps not using the correct API to ask for sharing.

Once apps use the correct api, the message won’t appear. This is why we have these betas , so developers can update their apps.

can we get the original article updated to reflect this ?

Until they replace the API again in 2026, and again in 2027 (January), then 2027 (July), once more in 2029 and on and on.

Microsoft is constantly adding new stuff on top of what already exists so users have dozens of overlapping and contradictory methods to choose from while Apple is constantly adding new stuff in place of what already exists so developers have to rewrite their app every 5 years

 

[svish]

Great to see that permission requirement after restart is removed.

 

[moodler]

I actually love this feature. I do not love spyware, I really want to know when it's active and I think it's good for the general population to be made aware that a) it can happen and b) it's controlled and can be blocked.

 

[CrysisDeu]

I don't understand why people who have commented are so upset. Are the people upset mad that they can't spy on someone 24/7? It's 12 clicks a year lol.

12 times 100 apps

 

[johannnn]

Any MDM solution? All corporate Macs have either Zoom or Teams.

 

[galad]

12 times 100 apps

If you have 100 apps that can records the screen on your computer, the issue is somewhere else.

 

[ifxf]

Just like all those websites requesting cookies, you click without reading.

 

[stiligFox]

I both like and hate this. I use some apps that regularly need screen recording access, and I’d like to permanently white list them.

But what if an app company gets purchased, and the new owners surreptitiously add screen recording functionality to it and push it through as an update? I’d like to be prompted by it, and continued to be prompted if it tries again.

There’s a fine balance and ultimately I think they just need to be able to give users the ability to choose what level of security they want. Do you mind okaying an app every month? Fine, leave it set to max security. Do you never want to be bother again? Turn it off. At least give us the option, Apple. Bad enough I won’t be able to right click > open my apps that I regularly use from before signing was even a thing and are no longer being maintained or updated to be notarized…

 

[dwaite]

Does this also apply to screen sharing through MS Teams and Zoom?

Until they move to the new API, yes

 

[dwaite]

I’m someone who has given a lot of apps a lot of permissions, setting that once is already a headache when you refresh your entire OS about once a year, but having to do that every month is a complete disaster. They could make it an option:
- Accept always
- Accept for 1 month
- Accept until app is closed
- Deny

The primary goal is to make sure users aren't being silently monitored after granting access one time.

The secondary goal is to make users complain enough that slow-moving enterprise apps update sometime this millennium to use the new API. The new API is a screen/window sharing picker provided by the OS, which means that the system captures consent (when the user hits the button to continue) rather than having the app silently start reading the screen.

"Accept always" means the application is never gonna fix their ****, because the existence of a workaround means it never gets prioritized.

Same with a lot of those other app permissions. You don't have to give an app access to read the desktop if it stops trying to silently scan the contents of the desktop. Even in privileged locations, the Open File dialog gives authorization to read the individually selected files.

Seems pretty simple. Sonoma and the macOS versions in the last year have already taken some things way too far. Some Apps need permission to every folder separately. Why can’t we just allow/deny access to the home folder as one instead of “App X wants access to your Downloads folder”, “App X wants access to your Desktop folder”?

If you want to give an app the ability to scan all your personal information, there is a permission to do this - it is called Full Disk Access.

Applications do not have an API to ask for this however; all they can do is open the screen and ask the user to enable it.

Apple get your ****ing act together and Make the Mac great again. Thank you!

They're obviously going the other way - just like the "app has accessed your clipboard" pop-over notifications on iOS, the goal is to limit broad API which have the potential for developer abuse by informing the user what is going on. At the same time, they usually provide new API which have reduced potential for harm and have reduced call-to-action for the user.

Let's not forget that the recent Crowdstrike issue that hammered mission-critical Windows systems was made impossible on macOS a few releases back - because Apple removed the equivalent Kernel API to the one that Crowdstrike abuses on Windows. There's no way if this API access was left in behind an "always allow" consent that that wouldn't become a permanent part of the permanent installation instructions on Mac.

 

[Jct250]

Jeez, clap clap for me, first post and already stuffed up posting on mobile.

I understand the need to balance privacy and convenience.

Originally an android user but moved to Apple after changing my credit card number which flagged me somehow on the google servers resulting in a 4 week back and forth with no result. (Google wanted a scan of my passport to confirm who I was despite not having that info on file to verify against)

TL;DR; in a world when stuff like this happens https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob... alleged that, in,students were using at home. Is a privacy notification the end of the world?

 

[NightFox]

Honestly great move. Non-tech savy folks and those lacking the stamina to remain vigilant should appreciate this privacy move. After discovering how easy it is to get to the desktop from Steam Play, this is welcome on that possible stalker angle.

monthly fatigue could set in on this *VISTA FLASHBACKS* but can’t think of a better solution that couldn’t be abused

Anyone who just clicked 'Allow' the first time round without understanding or caring what they were allowing is just going to do the same every month.

 

[JohannesO]

This is the death to apps like BetterSnapTool by Andreas Hegenberg They don’t record your screen, but Apple has forced them to ask for permission to record your screen if they want to implement better window management than Apple provides. https://apps.apple.com/at/app/bettersnaptool/id417375580?l=en-GB&mt=12

 

[REBELinBLUE]

Oh god. I hope this is more of a "Do you wish to allow XYZ to continue sharing your screen?" prompt after a month which either continues with permission as is, or remove it, rather than just automatically removing the permission monthly and requiring them to be regranted as if it had never been granted in the first place, thus requiring the app to be restarted, having to restart an app during a meeting once a month is going to become really annoying and unprofessional

 

[thekeyring]

I am fine with it asking once a month twice, but once you approve it twice, the OS should accept that you know what you are doing and cease.

As others have noted, constantly pestering people (even if monthly) will likely lead to "dialog box fatigue" where people - savvy or not - just by habit click the dismiss button so they can get back to whatever they were doing without even looking to see what the dialog box is reporting.

And at that point, the entire purpose of implementing this process as a security feature is invalidated.

This is such a good point. It's what happened in the EU with Cookie popups that appear on every single website.

 

[northernmunky]

Exactly my point, I work in a company where all the workstations are Macs. I have to explain these things every single day, it's so tedious. No matter how much you spell it out to people I'm still asked "this strange thing popped up what do I do?" even though the message is literally telling you!

Another ticket in my queue! I'm getting ready to bash my head against a wall, I do this every flipping day, no one cares to know what this is or what it means!!!