Accessibility permission
Also: Accessibility access
Updated
Definition
Accessibility permission is the macOS setting that lets one app read and control the interface of other apps. Dictation tools ask for it because it is how they type text at your cursor in whatever app you are using.
macOS exposes every window, text field, and button through an accessibility layer that was built for screen readers and assistive devices. The same layer is the only sanctioned way for a third-party app to insert text into another app, which is why every dictation tool that "works everywhere" asks for it. Without it, a tool can only put text on the clipboard and leave the pasting to you.
The permission is broad by design: an app that has it can, in principle, read what is on your screen. That is why the prompt is worth taking seriously and why the answer to "what does this tool actually read?" belongs in its privacy statement.
What a dictation tool does with it
Three things, in most tools. It inserts the finished text at the cursor, which is the whole point. It may read the focused text field, so replies can match the thread you are in and pick up the names already on screen. And it identifies the frontmost app, so a per-app style rule can apply. The second of those is the one to ask about: reading screen text is useful for tone, and it is also the feature where cloud tools have been caught sending screenshots to their servers.
How macOS asks
The first time a tool tries to type into another app, macOS shows a prompt and sends you to System Settings, Privacy and Security, Accessibility, where you flip a switch for that app. The permission survives updates but is revoked if the app’s code signature changes, which is why an unsigned or self-built tool keeps asking. You can withdraw it any time from the same switch.
Declining it
A tool built with care keeps working without it, in a reduced form: the transcript goes to the clipboard and you paste it. That is slower, but it is a legitimate choice for a locked-down machine or a first trial, and it should be a mode rather than an error.
How to turn Accessibility access on or off for an app
When an app first tries to control your Mac through accessibility features, macOS shows an alert with an Open System Settings button. You can also get to the same list yourself at any time, to grant access or to take it back.
- Choose Apple menu → System Settings.
- Click Privacy & Security in the sidebar.
- Click Accessibility. You may need to scroll down to find it.
- Find the app in the list.
- Turn its switch on to grant access, or off to remove it.
- Go back to the app and try the action again.
Why is the app missing from the Accessibility list?
An app normally appears in the list after it has asked for access once. If you dismissed the alert, or the app never showed one, the list will not include it. You can add the app by hand.
- Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility.
- Click the add button at the bottom of the list.
- Search for the app.
- Select the app and click Open.
- Confirm that the app now appears in the list with its switch turned on.
Accessibility vs Microphone permission
A dictation tool usually asks for two permissions, and they cover different things. Microphone lets the app hear you. Accessibility lets the app act on other apps, which is how the text gets typed at your cursor. Granting one does not grant the other.
They also live in different lists. Microphone is at System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone, with one switch per app. Accessibility is at System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. If a tool hears you but nothing appears at the cursor, check the Accessibility switch. If it types nothing because it heard nothing, check the Microphone switch.
Apple’s advice for the Accessibility list is direct: be cautious and grant access only to apps that you know and trust. Apple also points out that what a third-party app does with your information is governed by that app’s terms and privacy policy, not by Apple’s.
Questions people ask.
Why does a dictation app need Accessibility access?
Because Accessibility is the only sanctioned way on macOS for one app to type into another. Without it, a dictation tool can only copy the transcript to the clipboard for you to paste.
Is granting Accessibility permission safe?
It is broad: an app with it can read the interface of other apps. Grant it to tools you trust, and read the tool’s privacy statement to learn what it reads and whether any of it leaves the machine. A local-only tool with a published, verifiable statement is the safe case.
Can I use dictation without it?
With some tools, in a copy-only mode: the text goes to your clipboard and you paste it yourself. It is slower, but it works, and it is a fair way to trial a tool before trusting it.
Where is Accessibility permission in System Settings on a Mac?
Choose Apple menu → System Settings, click Privacy & Security in the sidebar, then click Accessibility. You may need to scroll down to see it.
How do I remove Accessibility access from an app?
Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and turn off the switch next to the app. You can turn it back on from the same place.
Does a dictation app need Microphone permission as well as Accessibility?
Yes, they are separate. Microphone access, at System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone, lets the app hear you, and Accessibility access lets it type the result into other apps.
