Fixed: Camera and Microphone Permissions on macOS Tahoe

What happened

Some users on macOS Tahoe (macOS 26) reported that Highlight Studio never asked for camera or microphone access. Without these permissions, recordings had no audio and the face cam overlay couldn't activate. The app appeared to work normally otherwise, which made the issue harder to spot.

What caused it

macOS Tahoe introduced stricter enforcement of app permissions. Apps signed with Apple's Hardened Runtime — which is required for all notarized Mac apps — must explicitly declare that they need camera and microphone access. Our direct-download build was missing these declarations, so macOS silently blocked access without ever showing a permission prompt.

This only affected the version downloaded from our website. The Mac App Store version was not affected.

How we fixed it

Version 1.0.15 includes the correct permission declarations. When you launch the updated app for the first time, macOS will ask you to allow camera and microphone access — just click Allow and you're all set.

What to do

1. Download version 1.0.16 from highlightstudio.app or check for updates in the app.

2. When prompted, allow camera and microphone access.

3. If you previously tried to record and the permissions were denied, you may need to go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone (and Camera) and toggle Highlight Studio on manually.