> Finally, in 2019, Apple announced that software signed with Developer ID certificates, that is to say all non-Mac App Store software, must also be notarized.

> Finally, in 2019, Apple announced that software signed with Developer ID certificates, that is to say all non-Mac App Store software, must also be notarized. The Catalina 10.15 public beta identifies software that has not been notarized as potentially risky because it “cannot be scanned for malware.” > In effect: developers who ship software directly to end-users are now required to notarize their apps. People keep spreading this rumor, and it's just not true. You can distribute unsigned apps to users; most open-source Mac apps do it this way. When users try to open an unsigned app, macOS pops up a "denied" message. People who know how to run unsigned apps can right-click and Open the app to run it, or go to the Security panel in System Preferences. Getting out of "warning mode" previously required Developer ID, and now it requires notarization, too. But warning mode still works, so it's not required, nor is it "effectively required."