Apple eases app notarization conditions ahead of macOS Catalina release

Apple on Tuesday adjusted app notarization requirements for macOS Catalina ahead of the operating system's launch this fall, saying it will temporarily ease a stringent set of prerequisites as developers work to bring their apps in compliance with the new guidelines.

Outlined in a post to Apple's official developer website, the changes are designed to help developers transition to macOS Catalina's new app notarization policies, while at the same time maintaining a high level of security for end users.

Announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Catalina will be Apple's first Mac operating system to require app notarization. The stipulation impacts apps distributed outside of the Mac App Store, which must now be vetted by Apple before they are allowed to run on user machines.

In today's post, Apple reminded developers of the pending requirements, but said it will temporarily adjust notarization guidelines in a bid to help developers working to complete what appears to be an onerous task. The relaxation will also protect users who continue to use older versions of third-party software on Catalina, Apple said.

Under the interim terms, Apple will notarize apps that do not have the Hardened Runtime capability enabled, include components not signed by a Developer ID, do not include a secure timestamp with a developer's code-signing signature, was built using an older SDK, or include a "get-task-allow" security entitlement.

The provisional notarization guidelines will remain in effect until January 2020.

Apple's next-generation Mac operating system is anticipated for release this fall, likely after a special media event set for Sept. 10.

11 Comments

bobolicious 1173 comments · 10 Years

About 5 years ago

...here we go again...
I've been voting no with my wallet.
'digital fatigue'...? Hmmm...

lkrupp 10521 comments · 19 Years

bobolicious said:

...here we go again...
I've been voting no with my wallet.
'digital fatigue'...? Hmmm...

And what, exactly, is your problem with Apple hardening its requirements for safety and security? In my opinion it will serve to root out half-assed developers who cobble together some crummy code and try to sell it to unsuspecting Mac users, like the Hallmark Card Studio apps that are little more than Windows ports. And for those developers who don’t play by the rules and won’t participate in any of the programs Apple offers, well, to hell with them. I’d like to see a list of all the developers who have abandoned their software and either won’t or can’t make their code compatible with Catalina. It’s going to be a slaughterhouse for the users who unknowingly update to Catalina only to find that the wonder-app they’ve been using won't work anymore.

It’s going to be a slaughterhouse for the users who unknowingly update to Catalina only to find that the wonder-app they’ve been using won't work anymore.

Is that in the end actually the point...?

fastasleep 6450 comments · 14 Years

bobolicious said:

It’s going to be a slaughterhouse for the users who unknowingly update to Catalina only to find that the wonder-app they’ve been using won't work anymore.

Is that in the end actually the point...?

You're both wrong. This was discussed in the thread on the new Gatekeeper requirements. You can still bypass Gatekeeper, or disable it altogether if you need to. This is unrelated to 64bit requirements, however.

From WWDC 2019, session 701:

CloudTalkin 916 comments · 5 Years

lkrupp said:

bobolicious said:

...here we go again...
I've been voting no with my wallet.
'digital fatigue'...? Hmmm...

And what, exactly, is your problem with Apple hardening its requirements for safety and security? In my opinion it will serve to root out half-assed developers who cobble together some crummy code and try to sell it to unsuspecting Mac users, like the Hallmark Card Studio apps that are little more than Windows ports. And for those developers who don’t play by the rules and won’t participate in any of the programs Apple offers, well, to hell with them. I’d like to see a list of all the developers who have abandoned their software and either won’t or can’t make their code compatible with Catalina. It’s going to be a slaughterhouse for the users who unknowingly update to Catalina only to find that the wonder-app they’ve been using won't work anymore.

Well actually {pushes up glasses} that's not true. They won't find that their wonder-app won't work because it will work. What they will be getting is pop up dialog boxes basically asking them to be sure this is what they want to do. More of an annoyance like Microsoft's UAC pop up. It was explained in the security talk from WWDC. It's approximately 10 minutes into the video. https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2019/701/

People on both sides of the debate seem way too ill-informed. Detractors and supporter seem to be equally lacking in factual information.