Safari - “This connection is not private”

What device are you using and the OS version?

• For an iPhone, check at Settings > General > VPN & Device Management.
• On a Mac, it is best to post the free EtreCheck report using the Additional Text option when posting. The report contains no personal information and will show the launch processes running in the background that may have been installed by a VPN and not properly removed years ago that are now causing a conflict.

How to use the Add Text Feature When Post… - Apple Community

Also, how are you navigating to Google? Is it from clicking a link on a webpage, bookmark, homepage or is it popping up on a completely unrelated website?

Internet Plug-ins: ... Web Control: 10.2.0 (McAfee, LLC. - installed 2023-12-04)

I don't know what that is but anything going by the name "McAfee" has been garbage since the turn of the century, at least.

And it's crashing...

2026-07-06 21:45:15 StatefulFirewall - Crash (2 times) Executable: /usr/local/McAfee/StatefulFirewall/bin/StatefulFirewall

I recommend the following: Open the folder

~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins

To navigate to ~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins use the Finder's Go menu > Go to Folder...

Make it look like this

... and click the Go button. Drag that McAfee product to the Trash. Restart your Mac (normally) and test.

From all appearances that Mac has no secure Internet connection, and a VPN can certainly cause that to occur. The "not private" warning is just a default for such a condition.

If you have no idea whether you installed a VPN or not, but you already ran EtreCheck and captured its report, try posting it to this site after starting your Mac in "Safe Mode":

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

EtreCheck ought to launch with its previous report already loaded (which you can copy in the same manner as before) but I am not certain of that. Scroll down to Report and share it. If it doesn't, run it again while in Safe Mode and upload the report. It is not ideal to run EtreCheck in Safe Mode because its performance metrics will not be relevant, but it may reveal some clues about the presence of a VPN. Or it may reveal something else.

Sounds like you may have a VPN installed and if you do it is recommended to remove it. Turning one off may not solve the problem and removal would be necessary.

Beyond that you will see the message when attempting to visit a site starting with "http:" instead of the secure connection using "https:", but I suspect a VPN may be the issue for you.

I believe John Galt found the culprit there with the McAfee plugin. I would also follow up by checking for any Extensions that are installed on Safari. Go to Safari > Settings > Extensions and remove all you see there.