Mac screen recording permission: how to allow it, and what to do when it does not work.
Every recorder, meeting app, and remote-support tool on a Mac needs your approval before it can see the screen. The switch is in one place on every current macOS version. The trouble starts when the app is not in the list, keeps asking again, or stays blocked after you turn it on.
7-day trial · $49 once · no subscription · Apple Silicon · macOS 14+The short answer
To allow screen recording on a Mac, open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording and turn on the app. If the app is missing, add it with the add button below the list, then quit and reopen it. The path is the same on macOS 14, 15, 26, and 27. On macOS 15 Sequoia the system also asks you to re-approve apps periodically, and on a work Mac a management profile can deny the permission so that only IT can change it.
The recording workflow
Open the panel
Apple menu > System Settings > Privacy & Security, then scroll to Screen & System Audio Recording and click it.
Find the app and turn it on
Each app that asked for access is listed with a switch. For a recorder that runs in a web page, the app to turn on is the browser.
Add the app if it is missing
Click the add button below the list, go to Applications, select the app, and open it.
Quit and reopen the app
Press Command-Q in the app and open it again. A running app often keeps its old state until it restarts.
Give it the other permissions it needs
Voice needs Privacy & Security > Microphone, a webcam needs Camera, and some tools need Accessibility. Each is a separate switch.
Test for ten seconds
Record or share for ten seconds and check that the picture shows your windows, not a black frame or an empty desktop.
Screen recording permission not working: symptom, cause, fix
Paths are from Apple’s Mac User Guide page “Control access to screen and system audio recording on Mac”, checked for the macOS 14, 15, 26, and 27 versions of the guide.
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| App says screen recording is not allowed | Its switch is off | Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording; turn it on |
| App is not in the list | It has not asked yet, or was removed | Add it with the add button below the list |
| Switch is on, app still blocked | The app was not restarted | Quit with Command-Q and reopen |
| A prompt keeps coming back on macOS 15 | Periodic re-approval (reported by the press, not in Apple’s guide) | Approve it; expect it again in about a month |
| Switch cannot be changed on a work Mac | A management profile denies the app | Ask your IT administrator |
| Recording works but has no voice | Microphone is a separate permission | Privacy & Security > Microphone; turn the app on |
| Sound records but the screen does not | The app is allowed audio only | Allow both screen and audio for that app in the same panel |
| A purple dot appears in the menu bar | System audio is being recorded | Open Control Center to see which app |
How to allow screen recording on macOS 14, 15, 26, and 27
Apple’s Mac User Guide gives the same route for all four versions: choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Privacy & Security in the sidebar (you may need to scroll down), then click Screen & System Audio Recording. For each app listed, turn the ability to record on or off.
The name is the one thing that changed. In the macOS 13 Ventura guide the panel is called Screen Recording; from the macOS 14 Sonoma guide onwards it is Screen & System Audio Recording. Older tutorials that tell you to look for “Screen Recording” are describing the same panel.
Two details on Apple’s page matter in practice. You can allow an app to record both your screen and audio, or just your audio, so one app can appear with a narrower grant than you expected. And the setting covers “apps and websites”: a recorder or meeting that runs in a browser depends on the browser’s switch.
The built-in Screenshot toolbar (Shift-Command-5) is part of macOS. Apple’s permission page is about apps and websites that request access, and you do not add the toolbar to this list.
Microphone, Camera, and Accessibility: the other switches a recorder needs
Screen access does not include your voice or your face. Each sits in its own panel under System Settings > Privacy & Security, and each has a tell in the menu bar. Apple’s Control Center page lists the indicator dots: orange for the microphone, green for a camera, purple when system audio is being recorded. Only one dot shows at a time, and opening Control Center shows which apps are using what.
| Permission | Path under Privacy & Security | What breaks without it | Indicator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen & System Audio Recording | Screen & System Audio Recording | Black or empty picture; no app sound | Purple dot for system audio |
| Microphone | Microphone | No voice; meters do not move | Orange dot |
| Camera | Camera | No webcam picture | Green dot and green light by the camera |
| Accessibility | Accessibility | Features that read or control other apps | None |
Why macOS keeps asking for screen recording permission
On macOS 15 Sequoia, apps that record the screen trigger a recurring system prompt asking whether to keep allowing access. Apple’s Mac User Guide does not describe it. According to reporting by 9to5Mac and Daring Fireball in August 2024, the prompt appears about once a month and offers “Allow For One Month” or “Open System Settings”. Apps that use Apple’s own window picker for sharing are reported to be exempt.
This is not a fault in the app, and Apple documents no setting that turns the prompt off. Approve it and carry on.
For macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 27 Golden Gate we found no Apple documentation of the schedule, and third-party descriptions contradict each other. If the prompt appears on those versions, treat it the same way: approve it for apps you use, and deny it for anything you do not recognize.
On managed Macs the situation is different. Apple’s Platform Deployment guide notes that from macOS 15.1 an organization can set “Force bypass screen capture alert” to prevent the alert from showing.
When the switch is greyed out, missing, or does not stick
Work through these in order. The first two solve most cases.
- Restart the app. Apple’s microphone troubleshooting article puts this first: quit the app, change the setting, then open the app again. The same habit applies to screen recording.
- Add the app by hand with the add button below the list if it never appeared.
- Check whether the Mac is managed. Apple’s Platform Deployment guide says a profile can deny specified apps access to capture the screen, and that this access “can only be denied” by a profile, not granted. On a company Mac, a switch you cannot change is a policy, and IT owns it.
- Update macOS and the app under System Settings > General > Software Update, then restart the Mac.
- Remove the app from the list and let it ask again. If the list offers no way to do that, macOS includes a Terminal command for it: the tccutil manual describes “tccutil reset” as resetting all decisions for a service so apps prompt again. The service name used for screen recording, ScreenCapture, is widely cited but does not appear in that manual, and without a bundle identifier the command resets the decision for every app at once. Use it as a last resort.
- Remote-support tools such as AnyDesk usually ask for more than one permission, typically screen recording to show the screen and Accessibility to control it. Follow the vendor’s own setup page for the full list.
- Apple’s Privacy & Security guide also lists a separate Remote Desktop panel, for apps that access your screen and audio through Remote Desktop.
Before you record: confirm the permission took effect
A granted permission that has not taken effect produces the worst kind of failure: a recording that runs to the end and contains nothing useful.
- Reopen the app after any change in Privacy & Security.
- Record ten seconds and look at the result: your windows should be visible, and your voice audible.
- Watch the menu bar for the orange dot while you speak.
- If you record in a browser, check the browser’s switch after every browser reinstall or profile change.
- Review the list twice a year and turn off apps you no longer use. Apple reminds you that data collected by third-party apps is governed by their own privacy policies.
Which permissions Qreata asks for, and how it reports a missing one
Qreata needs the same macOS permissions as any other recorder and cannot grant them to itself or to other apps. What it does is tell you, before the take, which one is missing.
A preflight panel named “Ready to record?” checks screen recording, the capture source, storage, and notifications. The Active source check then tests live data from the screen, camera, microphone, and system audio, and blocks recording if a source delivers nothing. A switch that is off shows up there instead of in a blank recording.
Screen recording permission is required for screen recordings. The camera-only mode, “Just me”, needs no screen permission. Accessibility is optional: without it clicks are still recorded, and granting it makes click timing more precise. It is required only for picking interface elements to blur while recording: “Blur · select elements”, or clicking an element with the live “Blur” tool. Dragging a blur rectangle and drawing on the screen work without it.
System audio is captured together with the screen, with no audio driver to install. Qreata runs on Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 14 or later and is in beta. The trial is 7 days with no watermark, and the license is $49 once for three Macs.
Before you share
- The app is on under Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording.
- The app was quit and reopened after the change.
- Microphone and Camera are on for the same app if you need voice or webcam.
- For a browser-based recorder, the browser is the app you allowed.
- A ten-second test shows your windows and plays your voice.
- On a work Mac, IT has confirmed the app is not denied by a profile.
Questions about this workflow
How do I enable screen recording permission on Mac?
Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording and turn on the app. If it is not listed, add it with the add button below the list. Quit and reopen the app afterwards. The path is the same on macOS 14, 15, 26, and 27.
Why is my Mac screen recording permission not working?
Usually because the app was not restarted after you turned the switch on. Quit it with Command-Q and reopen it. If the switch cannot be changed on a work Mac, a management profile is denying the app, and only your IT administrator can change that.
Why does my Mac keep asking to allow screen recording?
On macOS 15 Sequoia, the system asks you to re-approve screen recording apps about once a month, according to press reports from August 2024. Apple’s user guide does not document the prompt. Approve it for apps you trust; Apple documents no setting that turns it off.
What does the purple dot in the Mac menu bar mean?
It means system audio is being recorded. Apple’s Control Center page lists an orange dot for the microphone, a green dot for a camera, and a purple dot for system audio. Open Control Center to see which app is responsible.
How do I reset screen recording permissions on a Mac?
Turn the app off and on again in Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording, then reopen it. As a last resort, the Terminal command tccutil reset clears all decisions for a service so apps ask again; the ScreenCapture service name is widely used but not listed in Apple’s manual page.
Is the setting called Screen Recording or Screen & System Audio Recording?
Both, depending on the version. Apple’s guide for macOS 13 Ventura calls the panel Screen Recording. The guides for macOS 14, 15, 26, and 27 call it Screen & System Audio Recording. It is the same panel in Privacy & Security.