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Apps not showing up in Microphone/camera access list in system preferences

I am trying to give apps like Skype and zoom access to my microphone and camera but no apps are showing up in the list System Preferences>Security & Privacy> Privacy.

MacBook Pro 13", OS X 10.10

Posted on Feb 5, 2020 10:45 AM

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Posted on Apr 29, 2020 9:06 AM

My understanding is that Apps appear on the lists when they request access to the cam or microphone. I'm trying to give VLC access to the microphone, but it does not appear on the list. It does have camera access. When I try to record a video on VLC, I get an error message that no microphone is available. So, it is apparently requesting access, but it is not on the list. There is no plus sign or any other visible way to add an app to the list. Is this a bug?

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 29, 2020 9:06 AM in response to juliayezbick

My understanding is that Apps appear on the lists when they request access to the cam or microphone. I'm trying to give VLC access to the microphone, but it does not appear on the list. It does have camera access. When I try to record a video on VLC, I get an error message that no microphone is available. So, it is apparently requesting access, but it is not on the list. There is no plus sign or any other visible way to add an app to the list. Is this a bug?

Jun 8, 2020 7:00 AM in response to juliayezbick

I think the answer here varies but I was having the same issue on my iPhone 10X and finally realized it was because of settings I had in my Downtime. (Ex. Apps I downloaded wouldn’t show up in the microphone permissions, people couldn’t hear me on speaker phone etc.)


settings —> downtime —> content and privacy restrictions —> if you have this enabled, scroll down and ensure you have “allow” as the status selected for “microphone”

Mar 31, 2020 2:08 PM in response to juliayezbick

I am having the same issue with zoom, skype, and microsoft meetings apps. I go to security and privacy in the mac settings and after I unlock there is no way to add or take away any apps because none show up in the camera or microphone. It just says app that will request will show up here... which they aren't!!! Its not an operating system issue because mac support helped me and the new Catalina does not fix my issue.

Oct 6, 2020 11:58 PM in response to juliayezbick

I had this happen to me, but for screen sharing. The zoom.us app wasn't showing up as an option in System Preferences > Security & Privacy. I performed an NVRAM reset and now it's there.


If it doesn't work the first time for you, try it again. I had to reset twice before it finally showed up. Hope this helps!


Please refer to this Support article for steps on how to do an NVRAM reset - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063

Mar 25, 2020 3:02 PM in response to juliayezbick

yes, but how do I add the camera icon to the list of editable functions? OS X Yosemite version 10.10.5 only allows for the following function to be editted: Diagnostics&Usage, Accessibility, Facebook, Reminders, Calendars, Contacts, and Location Services (see picture below). Ultimately, I want to configure particular apps to have/not have access to my audio and camera and there is not a way to easily modify this in the System Preference > Security tab. I have seen youtube videos describing making changes within "terminal" ... but I am not a coder and it seems like this is an elementary function that should already be built into OS X Yosemite, like it is in the Cantalina/newer macbooks... Am I missing something?


Mar 25, 2020 10:33 PM in response to leroydouglas

yes, but how do I add the camera icon to the list of editable functions? OS X Yosemite version 10.10.5 only allows for the following function to be edited: Diagnostics&Usage, Accessibility, Facebook, Reminders, Calendars, Contacts, and Location Services (see picture below). Ultimately, I want to configure particular apps to have/not have access to my audio and camera and there is not a way to easily modify this in the System Preference > Security tab. I have seen youtube videos describing making changes within "terminal" ... but I am not a coder and it seems like this is an elementary function that should already be built into OS X Yosemite, like it is in the Cantalina/newer macbooks... Am I missing something?


Apr 13, 2020 2:37 PM in response to jmartin724

I am having the same problem. MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) No apps appear in the Privacy camera, microphone or speech windows. I have run through the routines on this topic and even reinstalled Catalina. It appears that the preference pane does not recognize any third party apps like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, etc. What's the magic key? These all work fine on my MacPro and and an older MacBookPro.

Jul 2, 2020 11:45 AM in response to juliayezbick

Try opening Finder and Go to ~/Library/Preferences, locate and delete the com.apple.systempreferences.plist file, restart your computer, and then try opening the App you need to add and hopefully it will send you to the Privacy Settings to enable it. (Detailed Steps for Deleting .plist files: https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4301)



I work as a Help Desk Technician and one person just reported a similar issue and the steps above worked.


They had no option to enable the application they needed to use in the Privacy settings.


I noticed the "+" button was missing on my machine as well (Catalina 10.15.4).


From my experience if System preferences is acting wonky, deleting the .plist file may fix the issue. Trying to create a new user account is another good troubleshooting step to test if it's a profile issue. If no resolve then I might try wiping and reinstalling MacOS and start from scratch.



Apps not showing up in Microphone/camera access list in system preferences

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