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Apple Has Wasted Millions Hours with a Misleading macOS Warning

6 points by milisp 1y ago

milisp 1y ago
macOS often shows this message: App is damaged and should be moved to the Trash. But most of the time, the app is just unsigned — not actually damaged. This repo collects real-world cases, time lost, and proposes a fix. https://github.com/milisp/misleading-macos-damaged-warning https://github.com/milisp/misleading-macos-damaged-warning
- daviddever23box 1y ago
  How is it costing the ecosystem? And why is this any different than Windows, for example? And - if you cannot afford a $99 / yr developer ID, how could you possibly afford a signing key for Windows or other platforms?
  - milisp 1y ago
    Thank you for the thoughtful questions! Why It’s Different From Windows On Windows, unsigned apps usually trigger a “Unknown Publisher” warning, which: - Clearly labels the app as unsigned — not “damaged” - Still allows the user to easily override the warning and open the app - Doesn’t falsely imply the app is corrupted On macOS, the message is: “App is damaged and should be moved to the Trash” This: - Strongly implies the app is broken or dangerous - Misleads non-technical users into deleting safe software - Can trigger across all user files or multiple apps after updates, as seen in real cases Cost to the Ecosystem It’s not just about the $99/year: - Small devs, educators, hobbyists, open-source projects often can’t justify the fee for a free tool - Explaining this to every user takes hours of support time - Thousands of safe apps are abandoned or ignored due to the scary warning - Users lose trust in perfectly good software We’ve estimated: - Over 1 million users have abandoned apps due to this message - Devs waste millions of dollars worth of time explaining workarounds The Goal Here We’re not asking Apple to remove security — just to make the message accurate. Changing “damaged” to something like: “App is not signed and may be from an unknown developer” …would solve 90% of the confusion, with no loss in security.
  - milisp 1y ago
    This isn’t just about me — it’s about a misleading message that affects thousands of developers and users. Even if I pay $99, the warning remains a problem for the entire open-source and indie dev ecosystem.
duxup 1y ago
I'm getting a 404.
- milisp 1y ago
  I'm sorry, miss a g word, here is the new url: https://github.com/milisp/misleading-macos-damaged-warning https://github.com/milisp/misleading-macos-damaged-warning
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]

6 points by milisp 1y ago

macOS often shows this message: App is damaged and should be moved to the Trash. But most of the time, the app is just unsigned — not actually damaged. This repo collects real-world cases, time lost, and proposes a fix. https://github.com/milisp/misleading-macos-damaged-warning https://github.com/milisp/misleading-macos-damaged-warning

daviddever23box 1y ago
How is it costing the ecosystem? And why is this any different than Windows, for example? And - if you cannot afford a $99 / yr developer ID, how could you possibly afford a signing key for Windows or other platforms?
- milisp 1y ago
  Thank you for the thoughtful questions! Why It’s Different From Windows On Windows, unsigned apps usually trigger a “Unknown Publisher” warning, which: - Clearly labels the app as unsigned — not “damaged” - Still allows the user to easily override the warning and open the app - Doesn’t falsely imply the app is corrupted On macOS, the message is: “App is damaged and should be moved to the Trash” This: - Strongly implies the app is broken or dangerous - Misleads non-technical users into deleting safe software - Can trigger across all user files or multiple apps after updates, as seen in real cases Cost to the Ecosystem It’s not just about the $99/year: - Small devs, educators, hobbyists, open-source projects often can’t justify the fee for a free tool - Explaining this to every user takes hours of support time - Thousands of safe apps are abandoned or ignored due to the scary warning - Users lose trust in perfectly good software We’ve estimated: - Over 1 million users have abandoned apps due to this message - Devs waste millions of dollars worth of time explaining workarounds The Goal Here We’re not asking Apple to remove security — just to make the message accurate. Changing “damaged” to something like: “App is not signed and may be from an unknown developer” …would solve 90% of the confusion, with no loss in security.
- milisp 1y ago
  This isn’t just about me — it’s about a misleading message that affects thousands of developers and users. Even if I pay $99, the warning remains a problem for the entire open-source and indie dev ecosystem.

duxup 1y ago

I'm getting a 404.

milisp 1y ago
I'm sorry, miss a g word, here is the new url: https://github.com/milisp/misleading-macos-damaged-warning https://github.com/milisp/misleading-macos-damaged-warning

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]