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August 7th, 2024

macOS Sequoia adds weekly permission prompt for screen recording apps

macOS Sequoia, launching this fall, mandates weekly permission prompts for screen recording apps, complicating usage for third-party tools. Apple has not addressed user concerns or provided guidance on this feature.

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macOS Sequoia adds weekly permission prompt for screen recording apps

macOS Sequoia, set to launch this fall, introduces a new weekly permission prompt for applications that require access to screen recording and screenshot functionalities. Users will need to grant explicit permission each week and after every reboot of their Mac. This change has sparked concern among users, as it complicates the use of third-party screenshot and screen recording applications, including popular tools like CleanShotX and functionalities in communication apps such as Discord, Zoom, and Slack. The prompt informs users that the application can access their screen and audio, asking if they wish to continue allowing this access. Developers have confirmed that this is not a bug but an intentional feature by Apple, although there has been no official documentation or guidance provided regarding this change. The new system will affect any app that requests screen recording permissions, even if that is not its primary function. Apple has not yet commented on the backlash from users or provided further details on the implementation of this feature. Additionally, macOS Sequoia will also impose stricter requirements for running apps that are not properly signed or notarized.

- macOS Sequoia will require weekly permission prompts for screen recording apps.

- Users must grant permission after each reboot and weekly for continued access.

- The change affects various third-party applications and communication tools.

- Developers have confirmed this is an intentional feature, not a bug.

- Apple has not provided documentation or guidance on this new permission system.

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Link Icon 12 comments
By @skrrtww - 6 months
Before yesterday's Sequoia update, this was a daily permission prompt.

In a vacuum, I don't consider this to be an extremely poor decision; the system picker has a mostly-sane interface. Apps that capture the screen currently have an extremely long leash, and the hole for an app that decided to become malicious and start (for example) exfiltrating capture data is... extremely wide.

However, for apps that took pains prior to macOS Sequoia in offering a reasonable and privacy-focused consent interface for screen capture (that doesn't use the picker, that is), this prompt is insulting and a slap in the face. Apple did not do a good job with its developers with the introduction of this 'feature'.

Furthermore, the system picker lacks important functionality (can't capture apps without currently visible windows, can't do 'everything-except-these-apps' captures) and its configurations have no time-to-live, meaning an app would have to use the picker every single time it starts up, or else get this prompt. This really undermines the picker and the prompt's effectiveness, and it's disappointing to see something well-intentioned be self-defeating in this way.

In general, ScreenCaptureKit is one of the most poorly managed and poorly functioning APIs Apple has introduced in recent years. It offers solid functionality, but every release introduces a legion of new bugs and performance regressions. I dunno if someone key to this APIs success quit or what, but it really needs to be fixed up by someone with actual care for the details.

By @wtznc - 6 months
Apple won't say it explicitly, but this change is designed to limit access to data that can be used to build systems or applications that understand the context of the things you're working on on this machine. This is just one small example of Apple's strategy to build the world's smartest operating system. The operating system's built-in artificial intelligence-based assistants need screenshots over time to understand context. A picture is worth a thousand words. A vein of gold.
By @zjp - 6 months
deep exasperated sigh

If you're too young to remember a time when Windows didn't bug you every five minutes with a prompt that said 'Isn't there someone you forgot to ask?', you should know computers used to just silently do what you wanted them to do. Shame that macOS is going the same way.

By @tambourine_man - 6 months
I’ve had less and less incentive to upgrade every year for over a decade.

I wonder when I’ll reach a tipping point.

By @OptionOfT - 6 months
I wonder what kind of impact this will have on boss-ware. Will there be ways to override this from an administrator point of view?
By @hasperdi - 6 months
DisplayLink (that allows to add more external displays than what Apple allows) relies on the screen recording feature. I think it creates virtual displays, captures and pipe them to the connected monitors.

It's going to be very annoying if I have to grant it permission on a weekly basis

By @whazor - 6 months
It would be much nicer if screen recording permissions does not need the application to be restarted. Then they could even ask the screen recording permissions for every specific instance if they wanted.
By @preciousoo - 6 months
Sad to hear as someone currently building an app with screen recording capabilities. Hopefully the outrage is enough for them to reconsider
By @jauntywundrkind - 6 months
It's just disappointing that the direction of computing is towards ever stupider lower more basic levels for the foreseeable. This sort of guarding & lowering of expectations is the only thing the OS seems to be working on these days.
By @heavyset_go - 6 months
Will Apple's apps trigger the same weekly permission prompt?
By @jscheel - 6 months
Guessing this is going to kill Bartender. I don’t love that it does screen recording, but this is probably the nail in the coffin.
By @sonofhans - 6 months
This is a bad article, missing half what it needs to cover the subject. It’s mostly describing a single dialog box with two affordances, and it only describes the effect of one of them — “Continue to Allow”. It’s reasonable to think that the other — “Open System Settings” - allows one to make the change permanently.