Photo: Apple
Apple will make bypassing Gatekeeper’s runtime protection harder in macOS Sequoia. It will do away with a handy shortcut in macOS Sonoma that allows you to bypass the security restrictions.
The company announced this change on August 6, 2024, following the release of macOS Sequoia public beta 3.
macOS Sequoia will no longer let you Ctrl-Click to override Gatekeeper
Apple allows you to run non-Apple notarized or signed apps on your Mac in Sonoma. This method is used by developers who don’t distribute their Mac apps through the App Store. Trying to open such apps will throw some security warnings from Gatekeeper. But you can bypass them by Ctrl-clicking the DMG file.
Starting with macOS Sequoia, Apple will eliminate this shortcut. However, you will still be able to run non-notarized apps. To do so, you must head into System Settings > Privacy & Security and review the additional security information before granting the app the necessary permission to run.
This behavior has been part of macOS Sequoia from the start; it’s just that Apple is making it official now.
Developers should notarize their apps to prevent issues with Gatekeeper
In an announcement on the Apple Developer portal, the company recommends developers notarize their apps for distribution outside the App Store. “The Apple notary service automatically scans your Developer ID-signed software and performs security checks,” says Apple. This ensures that Gatekeeper won’t block your app from running.
Admittedly, this change should only affect pro Mac users. Regular Mac users are not widely aware of the Ctrl-Click shortcut to bypass Gatekeeper, so they are unlikely to notice its removal in macOS Sequoia. With the shortcut removed, installing third-party non-notarized apps will take a few extra clicks.