TL;DR:
A Mac asks you separately for permission to capture the screen, to control the interface and to use the microphone.
Each one allows something different, so grant only what a tool needs and check the list now and then.
You can turn any of them off in System Settings, under Privacy and Security.
The first time you install a screen-aware app on a Mac, a window appears asking permission to record your screen. A little later, another asks about accessibility. It is easy to click through them without knowing what you agreed to. They are worth understanding, because they are the Mac's way of making sure nothing sees or controls your computer without your say-so.
Here is what each permission means, how to grant one, and how to take it back.
Why macOS asks at all
By default, one app cannot look at what another app is showing, or press buttons in it. That protects you from a program quietly watching your screen. When a tool really does need to do those things, the system makes you approve it, once, in a system window the app cannot fake.
The three permissions
Permission | What it allows | Why a screen-aware app may ask |
|---|---|---|
Screen Recording | Capturing what is shown on your screen, including other apps' windows | To see what you see, so it can answer about it |
Accessibility | Reading the interface elements of other apps and controlling them, such as pressing buttons or typing | To point at things, or to take actions if you ask it to |
Microphone | Recording sound from the microphone | To hear your question |
These are separate on purpose. An app that can hear you cannot automatically see your screen, and the reverse. Only the ones an app asks for, and you approve, are switched on.
Be aware that the exact name of the screen permission has varied between macOS versions, with newer ones calling it something like "Screen and System Audio Recording". Look for the one that mentions the screen.
Walk-through: granting permissions to a screen-aware app
The app asks: The first time it needs a capability, macOS shows a prompt naming the app and what it wants. Read it before you click.
Open System Settings: Choose the button in the prompt that opens System Settings, or open it yourself from the Apple menu.
Go to Privacy and Security: In the sidebar, find Privacy & Security. The list includes Microphone, Accessibility and the screen recording entry.
Switch the app on: Open the relevant entry and turn on the switch next to the app. You may need to enter your Mac password or use Touch ID to make changes.
Reopen the app if asked: For some permissions, the app must be quit and opened again before it takes effect.
If you prefer not to grant something, you can click Don't Allow and use the app without that ability. A good app will tell you what it cannot do without it.
Think of it as three separate doors rather than one key. The Screen Recording door lets an app look through your windows. The Accessibility door lets it reach in and press things. The Microphone door lets it listen. Opening one does not open the others, and you can close any of them again later.
Revoking a permission
Permissions are not forever. To take one back, go to the same place in Privacy & Security, open the entry, and switch the app off. Some entries let you remove the app from the list with a minus button. The next time the app needs it, it has to ask again.
It is a good habit to review each list now and then. Apps you installed once and forgot can still be sitting there with access. Remove any you do not recognise or no longer use.
Safety: Never grant Accessibility or Screen Recording to an app you do not trust. These two are among the most powerful permissions on the system. If an unfamiliar app asks for them straight away, quit it.
What a permission does not mean
A permission says what an app is able to do, not what it will do. A tool with the screen permission can capture the screen, but a well-designed one does so only when you ask. That is why design matters as well as permission: look at what the product says about when it looks and listens.
Privacy and control
DuckyHelper only listens and looks while the pill is open and for that answer. On a Mac that is fn. Whatever permissions your Mac asks for, you stay in control of them in System Settings, and the safety page covers how it treats your data.
Try it yourself
Open System Settings now and go to Privacy & Security. Look at the Microphone, Accessibility and screen recording lists. For each app on a list, ask yourself whether you still use it and whether you trust it. Switch off the ones you do not.
Frequently asked questions
Why does an app need me to restart it after I grant a permission?
Some permissions are read when an app starts. Reopening it lets the new setting take effect.
Is it safe to turn a permission off?
Yes. The app loses that ability until you turn it on again.
Does turning off Screen Recording stop an app from seeing my screen?
It stops it from capturing other windows through the system's normal route. For anything critical, quit the app.
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