Screen Recording Permissions on macOS: What They Mean and How to Fix Them
Why screen recorders ask for Screen Recording and Accessibility access on a Mac, what each allows, and how to fix a black recording or missing clicks.
macOS guards your screen and your input carefully, so any screen recorder has to ask for permission before it can work. The prompts can feel alarming. Here is what each permission does, why a recorder like Glidesmith needs it, and how to fix the common problems.
Screen Recording
What it allows: reading the pixels of your displays and windows. Without it, macOS hands the app a black or empty frame.
Why Glidesmith needs it: this is the recording itself. Glidesmith uses Apple's ScreenCaptureKit framework to capture a display, a window or a region.
Accessibility
What it allows: observing input events such as mouse clicks and key presses.
Why Glidesmith needs it: auto-zoom is driven by your clicks, so the app has to know when and where you clicked. Glidesmith records the position and time of clicks, and keyboard shortcuts such as ⌘S for callouts. It never records the characters you type, and that is enforced in the app, not just promised.
Microphone
Asked for only when you choose a microphone as the audio source. System audio capture does not need it.
Granting permissions
- Open System Settings and go to Privacy & Security.
- Open Screen & System Audio Recording (on older macOS versions, Screen Recording) and turn on Glidesmith.
- Open Accessibility and turn on Glidesmith.
- Quit and reopen the app if macOS asks you to.
Glidesmith's Settings window has a Permissions section that re-checks each one live, so you can see the moment a change takes effect.
Common problems
The recording is black
Screen Recording permission is off, or macOS has not applied it yet. Toggle it off and on, then restart the app.
Recording works but there are no zooms
Accessibility permission is missing, so no clicks were logged. Grant it and record again.
A protected app shows as black
Some apps, such as those playing DRM video, block capture on purpose. That is the app's choice and cannot be worked around.
Is it safe?
Permissions are only as trustworthy as the app holding them. Glidesmith keeps everything on your Mac: recordings are never uploaded, and the network is used only to activate and check your licence and to fetch in-app announcements. Read the privacy policy for the full detail.
Written by Glidesmith Team
Building Glidesmith, the Mac screen recorder for demos and tutorials. Local, no account.
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