Accessibility lets an app control your Mac, reading what's in other apps' windows and clicking or typing for you; the list is in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility. Window managers, launchers, password managers and assistive tools need it, so turn it off for any app you don't recognize or no longer use.
Last reviewed · 4 sources
Where to find it
System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility (on macOS 27, some developers' guides call this pane Device Control and Data Access)
Accessibility access lets an app control your Mac: read the interface of other apps, click buttons, type, and move windows. Apple notes that an app you allow this way can also reach your contacts, calendar and other information. It was built for assistive technology, and window managers, launchers and password managers rely on it too.
Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Privacy & Security in the sidebar.
The list shows the apps that asked to control your Mac and whether each is allowed.
Keep window managers, launchers, automation and password tools you use. Remove anything you don't recognize.
Turn off the switch, or select the app and click the minus (-) button. macOS asks for your password or Touch ID.
Window managers and clipboard tools stop working without it. Turn back on only the ones you use.
With Full Disk Access, CoreLock's free Privacy report lists the apps macOS has granted Accessibility and flags any still held by apps you've deleted. It shows what macOS granted, not what an app did with it.
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Moving other apps' windows, adding system-wide shortcuts and filling in fields in other apps all go through the macOS accessibility interface. That's why the permission covers far more than most of these apps use, and why the list is worth a look now and then.
It can read most text in other apps' windows and type for you, so treat it as access to most of what you see and do. Password fields show only dots, and macOS secure event input keeps what you type in them from apps that intercept the keyboard.
Input Monitoring lets an app see what you type and your mouse or trackpad input. Accessibility lets an app act: read other apps' interface, click, type and move windows. Some apps need one, some both.
The Privacy report and the scan are free, with no account, on macOS 13 or later.
Apple silicon build 2.0.7 · Intel Mac?
For your Mac, not this phone ·
Count the apps with Screen Recording, Accessibility, Full Disk Access, Microphone and Camera access in System Settings, and get a free 0–100 estimate in your browser.
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