Fed up with macOS Sequoia’s screen recording reapproval requests? Here’s how to make them go away for good

September 27, 2024

With macOS Sequoia, Apple introduced a feature whereby users are asked to regularly approve access for apps to be allowed to record their screen – which has not gone down too well with some folks, although there’s now a solution (albeit a third-party one).

From Apple’s perspective, this move was made to improve security in apps like Zoom where you might share your screen (or indeed screenshot utilities). The recurring permission requests for such apps first started appearing early in beta testing macOS 15, and they were introduced on a weekly basis initially, but later (following many complaints) Apple revised that to monthly prompts.

And to be fair, I could still see these pop-ups being bothersome, even on a monthly basis, and you might prefer not to see them at all (or just the once, rather, when you first use the app). Luckily, there’s now a workaround that MacRumors spotted in the form of an app called Amnesia.

Once installed, Amnesia can be used to stop the monthly screen recording permission requests on an app-by-app basis. The software is pay-what-you-want, so you can give the developer whatever you feel is an appropriate payment for the convenience of the app.

(Image credit: Future)

There’s another potential workaround – but will Apple do something itself?

The original version of Amnesia was for macOS 15 only, but since that release, support for macOS 15.1 (beta) has been introduced. You can check out Amnesia’s changelog (a record of updates made to the app) to see all the recent additions and adjustments for the software.

Alternatively, if you’re a little more of a techie, as MacRumors points out, you can also achieve the same result as Amnesia via the Terminal app by following instructions provided by tech blogger Jeff Johnson. Just as with Amnesia, this workaround makes it so that the screen recording reminders are turned off on an app-by-app basis.

I hope Apple considers revising this repetitive request for permissions. I’m not saying that the company has to get rid of it entirely, but maybe give macOS 15 users the option to switch to quarterly or biannual requests instead. I understand that Apple is trying to cover itself and its customers from a security perspective, but I think there’s more give here in terms of striking a balance that satisfies keeping macOS a safe environment, while annoying users less.