Why macOS Keeps Asking for Permissions Again

Short answer: macOS stores each privacy permission against the app’s identity, which includes its code signature. When an update changes that identity, or the app runs from a different copy, macOS can keep the switch looking on while the grant no longer applies. Some permissions, like Screen Recording and Full Disk Access, also only take effect when the app launches. The fix is usually to turn the switch off and on again, then quit and reopen the app. FavTray’s permission guide walks you through both, beside System Settings.

TL;DR

• Switch on, still not working? Turn it off, then on, then reopen the app.
• Granted but nothing changed? Screen Recording and Full Disk Access need the app to relaunch.
• Asked again every month? That’s macOS Sequoia’s recurring screen-capture confirmation, not the app.
• Two copies of the app? Delete the one outside /Applications, then grant again.
• Last resort: tccutil reset <Service> <bundle-id> in Terminal.

How does macOS decide whether an app has a permission?

The privacy system (Apple calls it Transparency, Consent and Control, or TCC) keeps a record for each permission you grant: Accessibility, Screen Recording, Full Disk Access, Camera, Microphone and the rest. The record identifies the app by its bundle ID and by a requirement drawn from its code signature. When the app asks for something protected, macOS checks the running app against that record.

That’s what keeps a look-alike app from inheriting your grants. It’s also why a legitimate app can seem to lose them.

Why do permissions break after an app update?

The most common reasons:

• The signature changed. If an update is signed with a different certificate, or a build isn’t signed with a stable identity at all, the running app no longer matches the stored requirement. System Settings still shows the old entry switched on, but it belongs to the old identity.
• A different copy is running. An app opened straight from a disk image or the Downloads folder can run from a temporary, randomised location (Gatekeeper’s app translocation). Grants made for that copy may not match the one in /Applications, or the reverse.
• The permission applies at launch. Screen Recording and Full Disk Access are handed to an app when it starts. Granting them while it’s running changes nothing until you reopen it.

Why does macOS ask again after a macOS update?

Major macOS versions change the privacy rules from time to time. macOS Sequoia added a recurring prompt that asks you to confirm apps that capture the screen or system audio, so screenshot, recording and screen-sharing apps now ask you to reconfirm on a schedule. That prompt comes from macOS, and no app can answer it for you.

How do I fix a permission that’s on but not working?

Work down this list and stop when it works:

1. Turn the switch off, then on, in System Settings › Privacy & Security › the permission.

2. Quit and reopen the app.

3. Remove and re-add it: select the app, click −, then + and pick it from /Applications. Reopen it.

4. Delete extra copies in Downloads or on a mounted disk image, and grant again.

5. Reset it from Terminal, which makes the app ask again from scratch:

   tccutil reset ScreenCapture com.example.app     # Screen Recording
   tccutil reset Accessibility com.example.app
   tccutil reset SystemPolicyAllFiles com.example.app   # Full Disk Access

   Replace com.example.app with the app’s bundle ID; FavTray’s is com.favtray.app. Leaving the bundle ID off resets that permission for every app, so don’t.

How does FavTray guide you through permissions?

FavTray asks for a permission only when you use a tool that needs it, and then shows you exactly where to go:

• It opens the right pane of System Settings › Privacy & Security and docks a small guide beside the window, with an arrow and two steps: find FavTray in the list, and turn the switch on.
• FavTray not in the list? The guide offers its icon to drag in, a Reveal FavTray in Finder button, or the + route.
• It watches the switch live and says “Done” the moment the permission is granted, with what FavTray can now do.
• For Screen Recording and Full Disk Access, which apply at launch, it offers Later or Quit & Reopen FavTray.
• If the switch is on but the grant isn’t working, it tells you to turn FavTray off, then on again, which is the fix in step 1 above.

The guide doesn’t answer macOS Sequoia’s recurring screen-capture prompt; nothing can, by design.

Which permissions does FavTray use, and for what?

Permission	Used for
Accessibility	Hotkeys, window snapping, AI Writer’s selected text, Keep Alive, rearranging the menu bar
Screen Recording	Screenshots, and Menu Bar previews and names
Full Disk Access	Sizing the folders macOS protects, in Space
System Audio Recording	Per-app volume (never records audio)
Bluetooth	Listing and connecting your paired devices in System
Location	Showing your Wi-Fi network’s name
Calendar	Meetings
Automation	Controlling Spotify and Music
Camera	The notch’s camera preview
Files and Folders	Saving to your Desktop
Notifications	Notifications

Each one is optional. A tool that doesn’t have its permission says so and keeps the rest working: Space without Full Disk Access reports its totals as “at least”, and per-app volume without System Audio Recording leaves every app at 100%. FavTray’s Camera & Mic view needs neither camera nor microphone permission, because it only reads whether they’re in use (more in is my Mac’s mic or camera on?).

How do I avoid this next time?

• Keep apps in /Applications and open them from there, not from the disk image.
• Update in place rather than keeping old copies around.
• Reopen the app after granting Screen Recording or Full Disk Access.
• Check the switch first when a feature stops working after an update. Off-and-on fixes most of these.