I see a closed discussion from 2 years ago, but this still persists. I would guess that I have seen that pop-up hundreds of times. I always click Don't Allow because I see no reason why Chrome needs to know about devices connected to my local network. If there is a fix or a workaround, it isn't mentioned in the old thread.
MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 26.5
stevegoldfield wrote:
I see a closed discussion from 2 years ago, but this still persists. I would guess that I have seen that pop-up hundreds of times. I always click Don't Allow because I see no reason why Chrome needs to know about devices connected to my local network. If there is a fix or a workaround, it isn't mentioned in the old thread.
Sounds like a Chrome issue. I would uninstall it and compare your results.
Kurt Lang wrote:
get rid of Chrome, and any other app Google writes. Spying is essentially what com.google.keystone.agent.plist and com.google.keystone.xpcservice.plist in the Launch Agents folder are doing.
Those daemons run the entire time your computer is on, whether you have Chrome running or not. Their function is to constantly send anonymized data of everything you do on your computer to Google's servers. Google's real function is not being a web search engine. It's to gather marketing information they sell to businesses.
ref: Help with Firewall Settings macOS 15.5 - Apple Community
You can try by deleting the folder:
~/Library/Application Support/Google
HWTech wrote:
etresoft wrote:
Agreed. I use Vivaldi which is a Chromium base browser which has no such issue.
I recall seeing another app which had the same issue as Chrome, but forget which one. It is one my organization puts on our managed devices (fortunately I'm able to use an unmanaged device...one of the job perks).
I think it was Microsoft Edge. It's not so much the "browser base" as the architectural build base. Chrome includes lots and lots of helper apps. And when Chrome gets updated, it doesn't delete the old versions. But Chrome also doesn't use Xcode. They have their own set of truly mind-numbingly complicated command-line build tools.
The end result is that they build these apps incorrectly. It leaves the system with multiple different apps having the same unique identifiers. Local Network Privacy is based on those identifiers. So when Chrome gets updated every 18 hours, the problem returns.
It looks like they might be taking another look at the problem. That bug report was recently updated. It turned out that throwing up their hands and waiting for Apple to fix it didn't work. I must admit, I'm really enjoying this kind of passive-aggressive bug reporting. Do good research. Identify the problem and support it with reference to original documentation. Then tell everyone about the solution except the developers. Sit back with a beer and popcorn and enjoy!
This is a known problem with Chrome and similar apps based on it. Or at least, it's known to everyone other than the Chrome developers. They think it's an Apple problem even though no other apps have this problem.
etresoft wrote:
This is a known problem with Chrome and similar apps based on it. Or at least, it's known to everyone other than the Chrome developers. They think it's an Apple problem even though no other apps have this problem.
Agreed. I use Vivaldi which is a Chromium base browser which has no such issue.
I recall seeing another app which had the same issue as Chrome, but forget which one. It is one my organization puts on our managed devices (fortunately I'm able to use an unmanaged device...one of the job perks).
How can I disable "Local Network" permission pop-ups for Chrome on macOS 26.5.1?
