Apple to Add New Controls to Mac Full Disk Access, 9to5Mac Reports
Apple has told developers it is adding new controls to Full Disk Access on the Mac, the permission that lets an app read nearly everything on a user's drive, according to 9to5Mac.
The account comes from a solo episode of 9to5Mac's Security Bite podcast, in which the host walks through what Full Disk Access is, what Apple has said is changing, what prompted the change and what is still not known. 9to5Mac said speculation about what exactly the changes will be "has gone parabolic."
Full Disk Access is the macOS permission that allows an application to read nearly everything stored on a user's drive. Because the permission reaches far beyond the files an app would normally need, any adjustment to how it is granted or controlled affects both the developers who request it and the Mac users who approve it.
According to 9to5Mac, Apple's message to developers confirmed that new controls are coming but left the practical shape of those controls unresolved. The episode sets out what the company has said so far, the circumstances that preceded the change and the questions that remain open, without settling the technical scope or the timing of the rollout.
The details as reported are drawn from the 9to5Mac episode, which does not include a statement from Apple on the timing or the extent of the change. The report also does not cite public documentation from the company describing how the new controls will operate in practice.
Speculation among developers and Mac users has run ahead of any confirmed specification, according to 9to5Mac, which described the reaction as parabolic while cautioning that the specifics of the change have yet to be made clear.