Apr 29, 2022
How to change Privacy settings in macOS
iLogix Computer Solutions was recently contacted by a customer who told us that she thought there was a problem with her Mac because her camera would never work with Microsoft Teams. As much as we love repairing Macs in this case it is not actually a fault. What was happening was normal even though it appeared broken. This blog discusses the issue and hopefully will help anyone with a similar problem.
When you install an App on your Mac it will not have access to your Mac hardware such as your Mic or Camera or have access to other installed Apps until you allow it.
macOS is secure out of the box. There are features of the operating system in place that Sandbox apps to ensure that they can only access items inside their own Sandbox Container. App developers place the code in their Sandbox that their App needs to function however Apps also need to gain access to other Sandbox resources. For example we have seen that since the lockdown so many people are moving away from physical meetings and switching to Microsoft Teams. Teams is an App that allows you to have meetings through chat, audio and video with anyone around the world over a secure Internet connection. For this to work the Microsoft Teams App will need to be able to access your microphone, camera and in some cases users may may want to present their screen. By default this will not happen until you allow it to.
When you use Microsoft Teams for the first time you will see some prompts telling you that Microsoft Teams would like to access the microphone and the camera, similar to the images here.
Additionally if you need to present and share your macOS desktop or an Application window you will see a message telling you that Microsoft Teams would like to record this computer's screen. You can then click the button on the alert to Open System Preferences.
Where does this button take us?
On your Mac click on the Apple at the top left on your screen. Go to System Preferences.
In System Preferences click Security and Privacy. This looks like a safe with a roof and chimney.
In Security and Privacy click the Privacy tab.
Notice that there is a gold padlock at the bottom left. This means that to make changes to some parts of this Systems Preference pane you need to have local administrator access. There are different types of user account in macOS. The two most common are Standard and Admin. A Standard user can not make changes the effect the entire operating system.
Let's look at this in more depth.
If we scroll down to Screen Recording in the list on the left here we see the items on the right greyed out. This means we have to click the padlock and unlock the System Preference Pane before we can allow Screen Recording.
Notice that we have a (+-) symbol on the right under our list of Apps, here we can add or remove apps.
To add an App click the Padlock to open the Preference Pane and then authenticate with with your TouchID or by typing your password.
Once you have authenticated browse to the Applications folder and add your App or search for it using the search field on the top right.
Select your App and click Open. You see an alert saying that the App, in this case Microsoft Teams, needs to be restarted. If you are safe to restart the App without any detrimental effects click Quit & Reopen.
That's job done. You now have access to record your screen or whatever was required.
This blog uses Microsoft Teams as an example however this is not limited to just Teams. In addiction there are more settings in Security and Privacy than Camera, Microphone and Screen Recording. The following table goes explains the additional settings available in Security and Privacy.
Do you have an issue with your Mac? hardware or software give us a call and we can help. iLogix Computer Solutions are not just Apple Certified Macintosh Technicians, we are also Apple Certified Support Professionals. We know both Mac hardware and macOS.
Mac support Basingstoke - Mac support Guildford - Mac support Farnborough
Mac support Reading - Mac support Camberley - Mac support Yateley