[macOS 27] Non-sandboxed Developer ID app blocked from accessing Chrome and Firefox directories under ~/Library/Application Support/ — intentional TCC change?

Environment:

  • App: Developer ID signed, non-sandboxed macOS app
  • Browsers affected: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox
  • Safari: Working fine on macOS 27
  • Working on: macOS 26 and earlier
  • Broken on: macOS 27 (Golden Gate)

Issue

Our non-sandboxed, Developer ID signed macOS app interacts with Chrome and Firefox directories under ~/Library/Application Support/ as part of its browser extension deployment workflow.

On macOS 26 and earlier, this worked without any special permissions. On macOS 27, the same operations are silently blocked — no TCC prompt is shown to the user, access is simply denied.

Granting Full Disk Access to our app via System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access resolves the issue completely on macOS 27.

Safari is unaffected — our Safari extension is bundled directly inside our app and continues to work correctly on macOS 27 without any additional permissions.

Question

Has macOS 27 intentionally introduced TCC or MACL-based protection over Chrome and Firefox directories under ~/Library/Application Support/, blocking access from non-owner processes including non-sandboxed Developer ID apps?

If this is an intentional change, is Full Disk Access the expected requirement going forward, or is there a more targeted entitlement or Apple-recommended approach for a non-sandboxed app that legitimately needs to access browser directories as part of an extension deployment workflow?

Answered by DTS Engineer in 905794022

This is an intentional change.

It’s implemented by MAC, as explained in On File System Permissions.

Honestly, I’m not sure whether Full Disk Answer will get around this. Regardless, you can find my general take on issues like this here.

Share and Enjoy

Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

This is an intentional change.

It’s implemented by MAC, as explained in On File System Permissions.

Honestly, I’m not sure whether Full Disk Answer will get around this. Regardless, you can find my general take on issues like this here.

Share and Enjoy

Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

[macOS 27] Non-sandboxed Developer ID app blocked from accessing Chrome and Firefox directories under ~/Library/Application Support/ — intentional TCC change?
 
 
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