The next macOS version will remove an official workaround to open unauthorized or unsigned software directly. Starting with macOS 15 Sequoia, users can no longer start undocumented apps downloaded from the web using the context menu. As Apple has now confirmed. This should increase the runtime security of the operating system and prevent the integrated Gatekeeper security function from being “overwritten”. This also makes it official that the new behavior is not a bug in the operating system beta, as testers had previously speculated.
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Cumbersome startup for unused apps
To run improperly signed or unsigned software, users need to go to the privacy and security system settings after the app launch is blocked by the operating system. The software can be enabled to run after entering the admin password. This step is required for any software not tested by Apple, but only once. A shared app can then be opened normally.
When opening unneeded apps, macOS displays a warning message. But you can still run the software — if you know how.
Apple is making it more difficult to open unsigned or untested apps directly after downloading them. Malware has also relied on this workaround for a long time and simply instructs inexperienced users to run the malware via the context menu. Apple is now closing this loophole.
Apple also calls on developers who offer their software outside the App Store to submit apps to Apple for review and certification. The code is automatically checked for malware. Untested Mac apps are now relatively rare.
Apple’s extensive control over apps
At the same time, Apple has extensive control over apps and developers: if an app provider is kicked out of the company’s developer program or doesn’t get an account at all, it can no longer offer software signed and verified with a developer ID. All that’s left is to offer the software unchecked and without a developer signature. Users then see frightening warning messages and have to go through the hoops needed to get the app started.
Unlike macOS’s automated checking and certification, iPhone apps in the EU undergo human checks. Despite promises to the contrary, Apple recently intervened again and denied the virtualization tool access to its platform – even outside the App Store. This decision has since been reversed.
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