Mac Screen Sharing
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Mac Screen Sharing

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Somebody wants to look at your screen. That is two checkboxes and about two minutes.

Seeing and controlling are two separate permissions on a Mac. Grant only the first and you will be seen, but the pointer will not move.

Language of that Mac

The settings are named as they appear on the Mac in front of you, which need not be the language of this page.

How can somebody see my screen?

  1. Start sharing in Webex and stop again straight away. That sounds roundabout, but it is the trick: macOS only lists an application after it has asked once. Before that you will look for it in vain.

  2. Open the Apple menu at the top left and choose System Settings . Faster: press Command+Space and type " System Settings ".

  3. Go to Screen Recording .

    Lets the application read what is on the screen — which is what the others then see.

    System Settings › Privacy & Security Screen Recording Accessibility Input Monitoring Full Disk Access Automation Webex

    System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording

  4. Find Webex in the list. If it is not there at all, the + below the list is the way in.

  5. Turn on the switch next to Webex .

    tccutil reset ScreenCapture Cisco-Systems.Spark

  6. In the meeting click Share and choose the whole screen.

  7. Now really quit Webex — Command+Q, not just closing the window — and start it again. macOS does not apply a freshly granted permission to a running application, and this is exactly where most people get stuck: everything is set correctly and it still does not work.

How can somebody remote-control my Mac?

Everything in the section above still applies. Only this is added:

  1. Go to Accessibility .

    Lets the application move the mouse and type. Without it somebody can watch, but touch nothing.

    System Settings › Privacy & Security Accessibility Screen Recording Input Monitoring Full Disk Access Automation Webex

    System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility

  2. Find Webex in the list. If it is not there at all, the + below the list is the way in.

  3. Turn on the switch next to Webex .

    tccutil reset Accessibility Cisco-Systems.Spark

  4. Go to Automation .

    Lets the application control other applications. Some meeting applications ask for this in passing.

    System Settings › Privacy & Security Automation Screen Recording Accessibility Input Monitoring Full Disk Access Webex

    System Settings > Privacy & Security > Automation

  5. Find Webex in the list. If it is not there at all, the + below the list is the way in.

  6. Turn on the switch next to Webex .

    tccutil reset AppleEvents Cisco-Systems.Spark

When it does not work

How to tell which permission is missing — the symptoms resemble each other, the causes do not.

Screen recording
The share starts but the others see only an empty or black picture.
Accessibility
Control has been granted but nothing responds.
Automation
Some applications cannot be controlled remotely while others can. Only when: When Webex asks whether it may control another application. Once dismissed, macOS does not ask again by itself.

More causes, and what helps against them

Checked on: 13

Apple menu, top left → About This Mac — It shows the name there, for example "Sequoia 15.6". From macOS 13 onwards this window looks different than before.