How to Audit Full Disk Access on macOS
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Tested on
- macOS 15.1 - MacBook Pro M3
- You will need
- Administrator credentials
Step by step
Open System Settings
Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of your screen. Select System Settings from the dropdown menu to open the primary configuration interface.
Locate Privacy & Security settings
In the sidebar of the System Settings window, scroll down until you reach the Privacy & Security tab. Click this entry to view your system's privacy configuration panel.
Access the Full Disk Access list
Within the Privacy & Security panel, click on the Full Disk Access icon. You will see a list of applications that have been granted permission to access all files on your storage drive.
Note: Applications in this list bypass standard macOS permission restrictions for folders like Mail, Messages, and Safari data.Review current permissions
Inspect each entry carefully. Identify applications that do not strictly require unrestricted access to function, such as legacy utilities, unknown background processes, or tools you no longer use.
Revoke unnecessary access
To revoke access for a specific application, click the toggle switch to the right of its name. You will be prompted to authenticate with your Mac user password or Touch ID to confirm the change.
Note: Disabling an application here may prevent it from performing specific tasks, such as creating backups or indexing files.Apply changes
Click the Quit & Reopen button if prompted by the system. This ensures that the application immediately loses its Full Disk Access privileges until you manually toggle them back on.