How to open an Apple macOS app from an unidentified developer.

If you are like mine, use safe macOS default settings to allow the system to run & open apps only from third-party Identified App Developers.

You may face a problem with something like this. Your Mac’s Security & Privacy preferences will not allow you to open the app from an unidentified macOS App Developer.

If you navigate to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General tab, you will see something like this:

So, how will you open that particular app blocked by the Security & Privacy Settings?

Solution 01:
You can change the settings available in System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General tab under Allow apps downloaded to Anywhere

Important Note:
This solution may not be the safest for the health of your operating system security & privacy settings.

Solution 02:
Once faced with this problem, as shown in the above image, navigate to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General tab and tap the ‘Open Anyway’ button. If the app doesn’t open automatically, tap on your respective app again to open it.

Important Note:
Sometimes, Solution 02 doesn’t work 100% of the time. However, you can follow the below solution to open the app without problems.

Solution 03:
To override your security settings and open the app anyway, use Finder:

Step 01:
First, locate the app you want to open in the Finder.
Note: Don’t use Launchpad, as Launchpad doesn’t allow you to access the shortcut menu.

Step 02:
Press the Control key, click the app icon, select Open from the shortcut menu, and click Open.

Important Note: The app is saved as an exception to your security settings, and you can open it in the future by double-clicking it just as you can any registered developer app.

Your problem of not opening a particular Mac app should be solved now.

Hope it helps,

Thanks & Regards
Mandar Apte