Allow "unknown" to find devices on local networks? — macOS 27 Bug?

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Level 1

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Allow "unknown" to find devices on local networks? — macOS 27 Bug?

Hi everyone!

I'm currently running macOS 27.0.1 on my MacBook Pro, and I've noticed a strange behavior that appears to be affecting other users as well.

Every time I log out of my macOS user account, a system privacy prompt appears asking:

"Allow '<unknown>' to find devices on local networks?"

The prompt includes the standard "Don't Allow" and "Allow" buttons, but macOS doesn't identify which application or background process is requesting access.

A few observations:

The prompt only appears when logging out, not during normal usage.
The requesting application is displayed as "<unknown>".
I've seen other users reporting similar behavior.
It's unclear whether this is caused by a background process, a leftover application permission, or a macOS bug.

Given that macOS 27.2 beta reportedly introduces new controls for managing Local Network privacy entries, I'm wondering whether this issue could be related to how macOS handles these permissions.

Is anyone else experiencing this specifically when logging out of macOS 27?

It would be helpful to know whether this also happens on clean installations or different Mac models.

Hopefully, bringing more attention to this issue will help Apple investigate and address it in a future update.

Thanks!

MacBook Pro 14″

Posted on Oct 23, 2026 1:50 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

neuroanatomist

Level 9

71,121 points

Oct 23, 2026 5:51 AM in response to Reachwars97

Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network to check for unrecognized apps.

More info from Apple: Control access to your local network on Mac - Apple Support

It might help to download and run EtreCheck, written by a long-time forum member. The free version is fine, it will show all your installed extensions. Review it yourself and/or post the full report using the Additional Text button. No personal information is revealed.

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Answer 2

etresoft

Level 9

60,556 points

Oct 23, 2026 8:09 AM in response to Reachwars97

It's been reported before, but someone hijacked the thread and killed the discussion.

There are several apps that have never conformed to Apple's software build instructions. Google Chrome is the primarily culprit, but some other large developers have copied those poor practices. You can usually see who's got the problem by looking for multiple entries in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network.

What's probably happening is one of those well-known apps has some hidden component that isn't built properly and is therefore showing up as "unknown".

Given that macOS 27.2 beta reportedly introduces new controls for managing Local Network privacy entries, I'm wondering whether this issue could be related to how macOS handles these permissions.

Obviously that wouldn't apply to your 27.0.1 system. Those 3rd party developers have known about the problem for years, but blamed Apple for it. Apple has documented how to properly build these apps, but these developers never followed those instructions. Unfortunately, sometimes Apple does cave to certain large 3rd party developers and change the OS to accommodate them. This might fix some of these problems. Might make them worse too. Might introduce new problems. No way to tell.

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