How to permanently allow opening .webp files in Photoshop on macOS Sequoia 15.4?

Have you tried using the Adobe Express WebP to JPG converter which is fast, free, and easy to use?

Well, I was trying to help. There are two posts, one that mentioned the person's Mac forgot the file association for MP4 files and reported them as malware. Another forgot .srt files. Once reset that seems to have fixed their problem. But, whatever you do, don't see if it fixes your problem.

This just happened to me today after upgrading to 15.4.

I have to clear each file with a webp extension individually. Also includes webp's I've had on the system for years with no issues. After clearing the file it can be reopened with no issues.

It's not working. I have the same problem on Sonoma since the latest update. Every time I try to open a .webp or .avif file (using Photoshop or Preview), I have this message saying mac prevented to oepn the file as it can not be verified, as if it was an app. I tried what you said a few times but to no effect. The only way to to allow in setting (after typing the password) for each individual file. It's total madness. How can Apple mess it up so bad ?

I have the same problem on Sonoma since the latest update (14.7.5). Every time I try to open a .webp or .avif file I have that message where Apple seem to consider an image file as an app. How can Apple mess it up so bad ? Since the latest updates or OS, they keep making users' lives so difficult.

I bought a new Mac Studio M2 not long ago and I have had more problems in a few weeks than I have had for years with my old trust trash can! To a point I wonder if I should go back to using my older computer or switching to Windows altogether...

Update: The plain text files in question were created by a sandboxed app. If I use File > Open… in an app that can read text files, no problem. If I try to open the same file via the Finder, Gatekeeper objects. I suspect an update to Gatekeeper rules, rather than to macOS 15.4 itself, has caused this change in behavior.

I'm having this problem with .wiki files (don't ask) trying to open in BBedit.

They're just text files, but Apple thinks they're malware and refuses to open them unless I jump through gatekeeper hoops *EVERY SINGLE TIME*.

This is intensely frustrating. I appreciate the feature might be necessary for some, but you have to have a way to turn it off for specific file types or specific apps. I would be doing this dozens of times a day, sometimes hundreds. I just can't.

Correction! While it seemed to be working yesterday for the .webp files, it is back to square one today and not working!!

My system is "fresh" after I reinstalled Sonoma then upgraded to Sequoia before re-installing all my applications, including Photoshop 2025.

I tried the "open all" in "get info", as I did yesterday, checked the settings in Bridge, but the .webpage files do not open.

What a nightmare!

Seriously Apple, get your act together. Why not give us a system that works for professionals and not a toy that looks like iOS ?

This is driving me bonkers. For everyone suggesting, I don't want to convert the webp. I want to open it by double clicking it and having it open in the program of my choice like I've been doing for years.