Permissions
The three macOS permissions Wardlume asks for, the optional camera, why each one is needed, and how to fix them.
Wardlume uses each permission only while the ward is active. Nothing is recorded, logged, or sent anywhere, and macOS blocks the app from the internet. See Privacy & security to verify it yourself.
| Permission | What Wardlume uses it for |
|---|---|
| Screen Recording | Draw the live desktop behind the glass. Frames go straight to the overlay and are never saved or transmitted. |
| Accessibility | Install the input lock that blocks the keyboard, mouse, and trackpad. |
| Input Monitoring | Notice intrusion attempts so the ward can react. |
| Camera (optional) | Only for Intruder photo, off by default: one photo when someone fails to unlock. Skip it in setup and Wardlume never uses the camera. |
Keeping your Mac awake needs no permission. It’s a standard power assertion (the same mechanism as caffeinate), held only while warded.
The one-time “private window picker” prompt
After Screen Recording is granted, macOS may ask once whether Wardlume can bypass the system private window picker to capture the screen directly. Wardlume triggers this at launch, before any ward is up, so you can click Allow right away.
If a permission goes missing
macOS occasionally resets permissions after an update. When that happens:
- The menu-bar menu shows Finish permissions setup…. Click it to reopen the guided setup.
- Activating the ward reopens the setup instead of casting a half-working ward. Wardlume fails closed.
- If Screen Recording is switched off while warded, Wardlume drops the ward and shows a Ward Deactivated alert rather than leaving you behind a frozen image.
You can also check everything at a glance in Settings → Overview → Permissions. Its Camera row has a switch for Intruder photo and a link to System Settings if you want to remove camera access entirely (macOS only lets you do that there).
Built with PermissionPilot
The setup wizard is powered by PermissionPilot, our open-source (MIT) permissions-onboarding SDK for Mac apps.
Something unclear or out of date? Tell us in Discussions.