How to Manage Microphone Permissions on Mac

macOS asks for your consent before any app can use the built-in microphone or a connected one. You can review and change those decisions at any time in the system privacy settings. This guide shows where to find them on current and older versions of macOS, how to confirm the change worked, and what to do when an app still cannot hear you.

Before you start

Microphone permissions are handled locally by macOS. No account or online service is involved in granting or revoking access. Before you change anything, note the name of the app you want to manage and check your macOS version by choosing About This Mac from the Apple menu, because the settings are in different places on older and newer versions. On older versions you may need an administrator password to unlock the settings panel.

If you use a microphone on a website, two separate permissions apply: macOS must allow the browser, and the browser must allow the site. If your Mac is managed by a school or employer, some privacy settings may be locked by a configuration profile and can only be changed by your administrator.

Step-by-step instructions

macOS Ventura and later

• Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
• Click Privacy & Security in the sidebar.
• Click Microphone.
• Turn on the switch next to an app to allow access, or turn it off to block it.
• If macOS asks you to quit and reopen the app, do so. Some apps only notice the change after a restart.

macOS Monterey and earlier

• Open the Apple menu and choose System Preferences.
• Click Security & Privacy, then open the Privacy tab.
• Select Microphone in the list on the left.
• Click the lock icon and enter an administrator password.
• Select the checkbox next to an app to allow access, or clear it to block access.
• Click the lock again to prevent further changes.

Both changes can be undone. To reverse a decision, return to the same list and flip the switch or checkbox back.

When an app is not in the list

An app only appears in the Microphone list after it has asked for access. Open the app and start the feature that uses the microphone, such as joining a call or starting a recording. macOS then shows a prompt; choose Allow. If you chose Don't Allow earlier, the app is already in the list with access turned off, and you can enable it there.

Websites in a browser

First make sure your browser is allowed in the macOS Microphone list. Then set the permission for the site inside the browser. In Safari, open Safari > Settings (Preferences on older versions), click Websites, select Microphone and choose Ask, Deny or Allow for each site. Other browsers such as Chrome keep their own site permissions, which you can usually change from the browser's privacy settings or from the icon in the address bar while the site is open.

Choose the right input device

Granting permission does not choose which microphone is used. Open System Settings > Sound and select the Input tab (on older versions, the Sound pane in System Preferences, then Input) and pick your input device. Many video call and recording apps also have their own microphone selector, which can differ from the system default.

Check the output

With the correct input device selected in Sound settings, speak normally and watch the input level meter. If the bars move, macOS is receiving audio from the microphone. If the meter barely reacts, raise the input volume slider in the same panel.

Next, open the app you gave access to and test the microphone there. On recent macOS versions, an orange indicator appears in the menu bar while an app is using the microphone, and Control Center shows which app it is. If the system meter responds but the app records silence, the cause is usually the app's permission or its own device selection rather than the hardware.

Keep in mind what the permission does and does not cover. It is a simple allow or block decision for each app. It does not affect audio quality or sample rate, and it does not control what the app does with your recordings. Check each app's own settings and privacy information to find out where recordings are stored and whether they are uploaded.

Common problems and next steps

Access is allowed but the app still hears nothing

Quit the app completely with Command-Q and open it again, then check which microphone is selected in its audio settings. If other people cannot hear you, the problem is on the input side. If you cannot hear them, check the output device in Sound settings and in the app instead.

The setting is locked or an app is missing

On older macOS versions, click the lock icon and enter an administrator password before making changes. If the controls stay unavailable on a work or school Mac, a management profile is probably controlling them, so contact your administrator. If an app is missing from the list, it has not requested access yet; trigger its microphone feature as described above.

Reset microphone permissions

If the permission list seems out of sync, you can clear your saved choices so that apps ask again. In Terminal, run tccutil reset Microphone to reset every app, or add an app's bundle identifier after the command to reset only that app. This cannot be undone directly: you will need to approve each app again the next time it requests the microphone.

Audio works but sounds distorted or noisy

These issues are not caused by permissions. For crackling or pitch problems, open Audio MIDI Setup from the Utilities folder inside Applications, select your microphone and check its format and sample rate; if your recording app has its own sample rate setting, make the two match. To reduce background noise, move closer to the microphone, lower the input level if your voice is clipping, and use the app's noise suppression if it has one. In supported apps on recent macOS versions, Mic Mode in Control Center can also offer Voice Isolation during a call.