Last Updated on December 25, 2021 by Rick Darlinton
Sometimes, you may face the issue of “Mac app won’t open” when you try to install and open an application on your Mac. This usually happens when you download some apps that are not from the App store or the identified developers. It will show “ The app cannot be opened because the developer can’t be verified”. This works to ensure security in case some unsigned apps may be tempered with. But if you are sure the app you install is safe and continue to use it on your Mac, you can follow the steps in this post about how to fix the issue of “Mac app won’t open”.
How to fix the error of Mac app won’t open
When the app you are trying to open is downloaded from unknown sources, a pop-up window may show saying the app can’t be opened because the developer can’t be verified in macOS Catalina and later. To continue opening the app, you can follow the instructions below
- Go to System Preferences on your Mac
- Tap on Security &Privacy and then go to the General option.
- Next, click on the Open Anyway button to open the app.
- Click on Open if a warning window appears saying whether you are sure to open the app.
If you want to open the apps from anywhere on your Mac, you can follow the solutions below
- Go to System Preferences> Security & Privacy and then click the lock to make changes at the bottom in the General option.
- After that, you may need to enter the account and password on your Mac
- Now you will be able to select an option under the tab of “Allow apps downloaded from”. Select the option of Anywhere.
Note: If you do not see the option of Anywhere here, your Mac version may be macOS Sierra or later. It happens because of the Gatekeeper software that is used to recognize whether the app you download is from the app store for security.
To show the Anywhere option in General under the “Allow apps downloaded from” tab, you can follow the tips below to disable the Gatekeeper
- Find the Finder on your Mac and go to Applications>Utilities to open the Terminal
- Now enter the code: sudo spctl–master-disable in the terminal and then press Return
- You may need to type the Mac admin password
- When this is done, you can go back to the General screen under the Security & Privacy on your Mac and click on Anywhere to allow apps downloaded from anywhere.
Note: If you want to enable Gatekeeper again, just enter the code: sudo spctl –master-enable in the terminal according to the steps above.
Should you disable Gatekeeper on Mac?
We do not suggest you disable Gatekeeper permanently because Gatekeeper is helpful to ensure the security of your Mac by preventing the installation of unidentified apps or malware that may pose a risk to the security of your Mac device. If you want to download an app that is not from app store or identified developers, you can click on the Open Anyway button in the General option under the Security & Privacy or just disable Gatekeeper temporarily in order to download some lesser-known applications.
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