OpenCPN Wants Permission to Record Screen (Mac)

[workmaster2n]

I'm new to OpenCPN, sorry if this has been answered somewhere. I was playing with route planning today, on the Australia Vector Charts (oeSENC), when all of a sudden I got a pop up about "OpenCPN is requesting to record the screen". I'm not sure if it was the route planning, the chart I was on, or if I accidentally clicked something else, but I was curious why OpenCPN would want to record my screen.

The pop up led me to a setting under System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> Screen Recording.

I didn't allow it yet, as I wasn't sure what I had done to kick it off.

I couldn't find anything on google, but I might have searched for the wrong phrase.

Thanks!

OpenCPN version: 5.2.4
MacOS version: 10.15.7

[ohthetrees]

I get this too, along with its twin, "allow incoming network connections". OpenCPN asks these two questions every day or two, regardless of what I click when it asks. Wish I could help.

[pjpd]

I have this issue too.

It shouldn't need either, and it is very worrying.

[nohal]

OpenCPN is not recording the screen and does not request any permission to do it. Something changed in the latest versions of macOS that displays these nonsense messages when the display is being initialised. Will likely disappear sometimes in the future as the OS and frameworks used get updated.
OpenCPN of course needs to accept incoming data connections to receive the navigation data, this message is displayed by macOS for every application containing code able to do so as far as I can say.

[bdgWesternMass]

Most likely the OpenCPN operates on a Mac is by using "screen sharing standards" from long ago that allow more capabilities than OpenCPN is actually using.

MacOS and Apple specifically is getting very deliberate in how applications can access your activities and what must be disclosed. Most likely the developer has created the needed the needed disclosure, but is failing to write your choices to a permanent location for future use.

This issue could be systemic to the Application or some unusually set-up on your device.

All of this is guess work based on being a Mac developer that has been local at the chartploting software situation for apple devices...

[nohal]

The "Screen Recording" permission is somewhat different, it is requested as soon as the application calls an API that Apple considered as able to capture the screen/window content, not based on Info.plist (See https://devstreaming-cdn.apple.com/v...urity.pdf?dl=1 page 60 and later).
There is also nothing a developer is supposed to save anywhere, regarding the granted permissions, this is pure OS functionality.

OpenCPN does nowhere invoke any of these APIs directly, but they are likely used by the wxWidgets framework in various places in the drawing code we use and share on all platforms, which makes it virtually impossible for us to get rid of this annoyance.

[bcn]

Have not seen this message here since we started with a new M1 macMini and BigSur.
On the former one with Catalina the message popped up sometimes at start-up.

[bdgWesternMass]

If you are lucky you might be able to disable the network notifications using this tech note.

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-...ll-mh34041/mac

Essentially look inside System Preferences-->Security & Privacy-->Firewall and allowing the requesting apps access.

This is where your preferences for privacy and security are set and you can change them.
Each time you open up your system this way your are making your self a target for malicious activities but you can weigh the risks.

Good news that it seems to have cleared up in Big Sur

[CarCode]

You should be careful. Yesterday Apple offered patches for all operating systems and devices with iOS and macOS because of a bug in the Webkit. The bug makes the OS vulnerable against malware coming from prepared web pages. So please update your Apple devices. There are also updates available for older versions of macOS.