macOS Sequoia pops up a pop-up every week

macOS Sequoia is the new operating system for Apple computers. It should be deployed in a few weeks. For the moment, macOS Sequoia is quietly continuing its development phase.Version 15 of the OS is in its fifth beta.

New pop-up to allow screenshots

In the latest macOS Sequoia beta,a new feature has been spotted. This is a security measure that causes a pop-up to appear on the screen,to remind the user that an application has access to the Mac screen or sound.

9to5Mac reports on this:

This prompt is designed to appear every week. The first time you try to use the app, you will see this prompt and will need to decide whether you want to “Continue to allow” or change the permission settings. The prompt will also appear every time (for each app) when you use that app for the first time after restarting your Mac.

This change will directly affect third-party screenshot utilities, such as CleanShotX. It will also affect your screen sharing in other apps, such as Discord, Zoom, and Slack. Notably, the change even applies to apps that use ScreenCaptureKit, a new framework introduced with macOS 12 intended to improve screen recording features for third-party apps.

The objective is to avoid certain risky situations. Say, you install an app and give it access to your Mac screen and sound, then stop using it without uninstalling it. When you installed it, it was reliable, and its developers trusted. In reality, who says that the app won't be resold to malicious people? Nothing prevents a previously secure application from changing hands and then being used for unscrupulous purposes.

About Apple Betas

The advantage of beta versions is that they allow you to monitor the progress of things, and the addition or removal of features. Indeed, it sometimes happens that Apple announces something new at a conference, then backtracks in the beta versions. This happens when the functionality does not meet expectations,like the carousel view of the iOS 18 photo library.

Beta versions also allow you to discover interesting facts that Apple doesn't talk about. For example, we learned yesterday that the firm is givingvery specific instructionsto its features that use artificial intelligence, in order to avoid any problems.