Why Your Mac Keeps Asking for Screen Recording Access
Why your Mac keeps asking for screen recording permission: macOS 15's monthly re-check and macOS 14's relaunch rule. What to click and what to leave alone.
If your Mac keeps asking for screen recording permission, there are usually two causes. On macOS 15 Sequoia, the system asks you to re-confirm an app's screen recording access about once a month. On macOS 14 Sonoma, access you just granted doesn't take effect until you quit and reopen the app. Neither means something is broken. Keep allowing the app you use, relaunch it once after granting, and it will record normally.
If the app still can't record after you allowed it, work through the fixes below in order.
Why your Mac keeps asking for screen recording permission
| What you see | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| A prompt about once a month for an app you already allowed | macOS 15 periodic re-confirmation | Keep allowing it (see the macOS 15 section) |
| You allowed access on macOS 14, but the app still can't record | The app hasn't been relaunched since you granted access | Quit the app completely and open it again |
| The switch is on in System Settings, but recording still fails | The permission entry is out of sync | Remove the entry and add it again, or reset it in Terminal |
| The app isn't in the list at all | It hasn't asked for access yet | Add it with the + button |
macOS 15: periodic re-confirmation
macOS 15 Sequoia added a recurring check for apps that have screen recording access. About once a month, macOS shows a dialog asking whether the app should keep that access. This is how macOS 15 works, and it applies to other apps with this permission too, not only screen recorders.
What to click: if you trust the app and still use it, choose the option that keeps allowing access. If you'd rather review it first, you can choose to open System Settings and turn the switch on there yourself.
What to leave alone: don't deny access to an app you rely on just to make the dialog go away. Denying turns the permission off, and the app fails the next time it tries to record. We don't know of a supported way to turn the reminder off on a personal Mac, and we don't recommend Terminal tweaks or utilities that claim to.
If you see the same kind of reminder on macOS 26 Tahoe, the same advice applies.
macOS 14: relaunch after granting
On macOS 14 Sonoma, turning on screen recording access for an app that is already running isn't enough. The app has to be quit completely and opened again before the permission takes effect. Until then, the app behaves as if access is still denied, which is why it can look like your Mac keeps asking.
In Screen Bolt this shows up early. The recording bar loads the list of displays and windows as soon as it appears, so macOS may ask for access at first launch or when you start your first recording. After you allow it:
- Quit Screen Bolt: click the close button at the left end of the recording bar, or press ⌘Q (Command-Q).
- Open Screen Bolt again from Applications.
If a recording is running, stop it before you quit. Quitting during an active recording quits without finalizing it.
If macOS offers to quit and reopen the app when you turn the switch on, accepting that does the same thing.
Grant screen recording access in System Settings
- Open System Settings and click Privacy & Security.
- Click Screen Recording (macOS 14) or Screen & System Audio Recording (macOS 15 and later). If you don't see it, type "Screen Recording" into the System Settings search field.
- Turn on the switch next to the app. Enter your password or use Touch ID if asked.
- Quit the app and open it again. For Screen Bolt there's a quicker route. Choose Help ▸ Screen Bolt Help (⌘?), find Screen Recording in the Permissions panel and click Open Settings. It opens the screen recording pane directly.
When the app isn't listed, or the switch is on but it still fails
Install Screen Bolt properly first. Drag Screen Bolt.app from the downloaded DMG into Applications and open it from there.
Add the app by hand if it's missing:
- In the screen recording pane, click the + button below the list.
- Choose the app in your Applications folder and click Open.
- Make sure its switch is on, then quit and reopen the app.
Remove and re-add the entry. If the switch is on but recording still fails, select the app in the list, click the − button, add it again with +, then relaunch the app.
Reset the permission in Terminal. If the entry still misbehaves, quit Screen Bolt and clear its screen recording decision so macOS asks fresh. Always include the app identifier at the end. Running tccutil reset ScreenCapture without it resets screen recording permission for every app on your Mac.
tccutil reset ScreenCapture com.screenbolt.Screen-Bolt
This removes only Screen Bolt's screen recording permission. To undo it, open Screen Bolt and allow access again when macOS asks (or turn the switch back on in System Settings), then relaunch the app.
Check the status in Screen Bolt's Help window
Choose Help ▸ Screen Bolt Help (⌘?). The Permissions panel shows a live status and an Open Settings button for each permission Screen Bolt uses:
| Permission | What it's for | Status it can show |
|---|---|---|
| Screen Recording | Every recording | Granted or Denied |
| Microphone | Your mic track, and "Record iPhone audio" for a second camera | Granted, Denied or Not Determined |
| Camera | Webcam or iPhone camera overlay | Granted, Denied or Not Determined |
| Input Monitoring | Timing for keyboard sound effects only | Granted, Denied or Not Determined |
| Screen Recording never shows Not Determined, so Denied can also mean macOS simply hasn't asked yet. If the System Settings switch is on but the Help window still shows Denied, quit and reopen Screen Bolt, then check again. |
The other permissions are separate prompts, so don't mistake them for screen recording asking again. Camera is asked when you first turn a camera on, Microphone when you first start a recording with Mic on, and Input Monitoring through a one-time alert at first launch if it isn't granted. Screen Bolt doesn't request Accessibility access. It tracks clicks and cursor movement without it.
What Screen Bolt's error banners mean
When screen recording access is missing, Screen Bolt shows a red banner under the recording bar. The banner has no button, so fix the permission from the Help window or System Settings.
- "Failed to get screen sources: …" Screen Bolt couldn't read your displays and windows. The permission is usually off or, on macOS 14, on but not active until you relaunch.
- "Failed to start recording: …" The recording couldn't begin. Check the permission first, then see fixes for screen recording not working on Mac for other causes.
- "Screen Recording permission was revoked — please re-grant in System Settings → Privacy & Security, then start a new recording." Access was turned off during a recording. Re-grant it and start a new recording.
If a recording was cut off, try File ▸ Recover unfinished recordings... before you quit. Screen Bolt deletes leftover temporary recordings the next time it launches, so recovery only works in the current session. A recovered file opens as a plain video and your edits to it aren't saved, so export what you need from it right away.
What to leave alone
- Don't deny the monthly prompt for apps you use. It turns their access off.
- Don't disable System Integrity Protection or install utilities that suppress privacy prompts. The prompts are a security feature, and switching them off weakens protection for every app on your Mac.
- Don't run
tccutil resetwithout an app identifier unless you want to re-grant every app.
When to contact Apple or us
Contact Apple Support if every app loses screen recording access and even the built-in Screenshot toolbar (⇧⌘5, Command-Shift-5) fails. That points to a system-level problem. If your company manages your Mac, privacy settings may be controlled by your IT team, so ask them first.
Contact us if only Screen Bolt is affected after you've tried the fixes above. In Screen Bolt, choose Help ▸ Report an Issue… to open a pre-filled email that includes your app version, macOS version, Mac model and all four permission states. You can also click Copy Diagnostics in the Help window and paste the result into a message from our support page. Nothing is sent automatically. Tell us:
- Your macOS version, and whether the prompt appears monthly or on every launch
- The exact red banner text
- What the Help window shows for Screen Recording
- Whether you relaunched Screen Bolt after granting access