Pop-ups - App "Wants Access to Control Safari" - How to remove

The “App wants access to control Safari” alert is displayed when an app wants to control your browser. If you don’t recognize the app or if you don’t know why it wants to control Safari, it’s best to deny it.

It is possible that the “App wants access to control Safari” alert is caused by slightly malicious apps – adware infections. These apps might want to mess with your browser settings. In that case, it’s best to find and delete these apps and all the files related to them.

“App wants access to control Safari” in short:

Threat type	Potentially unwanted program, adware.
What causes the “App wants access to control Safari” pop-ups	Adware apps and other potentially unwanted apps.
Dangers posed by browser hijackers	Browsing data logged without permission, ads injected into web pages.
How to stop the “App wants access to control Safari” pop-ups	Find and remove the app asking this permission, find and delete suspicious apps with anti-malware apps (Combo Cleaner, Malwarebytes, Spyhunter for Mac, others).

What causes the “App wants access to control Safari” pop-up?

The pop-up shows up when Safari is open

When you open Safari, you might see a pop-up saying that an app wants to control your browser. It might say something like this:

[App] wants access to control “Safari”. Allowing control will provide access to documents and data in “Safari”, and to perform actions within that app.

Some people report that the “App wants access to control Safari” pop-up would always appear together with a “Your computer is low on memory” pop-up. Some also say that, as long as Safari is open, the pop-up appears every 30 seconds, like clockwork. It can be very disruptive and make using Safari unbearable.

The [App] in the pop-up is the name of the app that wants to control Safari. It might be something mundane, like “OptimalSync” or “MainBoardSearch”. Or it might be a long string of random numbers, as it often happens. Don’t be surprised if you don’t recognize the app name.

If there’s a dubious app on your device, macOS might also show you the “App will damage your computer” alert.

Apps behind the “App wants access to control Safari” message

Your macOS is showing the “App wants access to control Safari” pop-up because there’s an app on your Mac that wants to control your web browser, Safari.

If you know and trust the app, if you know why it wants to access Safari, then you should allow it and click “OK”. There are legitimate ways in which apps use similar permissions (Why Do Some Mac Apps Need to Control This Computer Using Accessibility Features?).

But if you don’t recognize the app, don’t trust it, or don’t know why it wants to control Safari, then you should press the “Don’t Allow” button instead. Malicious apps that want access to web browsers are likely adware (show unwanted ads) or spyware (collect user information).

Sometimes, apps legitimately want to use the features of other apps – there’s nothing wrong with that. But what if a malicious app gets access to your browser? Here are some problems that could arise from that:

• Apps could see your browsing history, your search history, and what web pages you open.
• They might even be able to read your login forms (usernames, passwords, emails, etc.) that are saved in the browser.
• They could redirect you to unwanted websites (Searchmarquis, Safefinder, etc.), open promoted sites in new browser tabs, inject ads. They might promote unsafe content.

Apps that get access to your browser get a lot of power over your browsing and a lot of access to your personal information. This is why it’s very important to be careful when you see the “App wants access to control Safari” and to avoid clicking “OK” unless you’re absolutely sure that the app is trustworthy.

How to stop the “App wants access to control Safari” pop-ups?

First, try clearing saved Safari data. Hold the Shift key on your keyboard while you start Safari – this removes unnecessary data saved in your browser. This has helped some people, at least temporarily.

It’s still important to check if there’s a malicious app on your Mac that is causing these “App wants access to control Safari” pop-ups to appear.

You can check out this permission by opening your System Preferences, going to Security & Privacy, clicking the Privacy tab, and scrolling down for Automation. This should show which apps are controlling your other apps (Allow apps to control other apps on Mac).

If you find some unknown or suspicious apps, you might want to delete them. Below you can find instructions for how to do it manually.

It’s also advisable to scan your Mac for adware with an anti-malware app, such as Combo Cleaner, Malwarebytes, Spyhunter for Mac, and others. Adware rarely gets installed alone – where there’s one item, there is often one or two more. Anti-adware apps can help you find threats.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Remove adware from Mac

How to remove Pop-ups - App "Wants Access to Control Safari" from macOS

Delete App Wants Access to Control Safari from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the Pop-ups - App "Wants Access to Control Safari" app.
5. Select it and right-click it (or hold the Ctrl and click the left mouse button).
6. In the dropdown, click Move to Bin/Trash. You might be asked to provide your login password.

(Optional) Delete related settings

Some malicious apps make themselves difficult to delete by changing various settings and leaving behind malicious files. Remove settings related to App Wants Access to Control Safari.

• Click the Apple logo in the menu bar. Open System Preferences.
• Some malicious applications set profiles to enforce unwanted settings. Remove unwanted configuration profiles.

1. 1. In System Preferences, click the Profiles icon. This icon is only visible if there are profiles on your Mac.
   2. Select unwanted profiles and remove them by pressing the minus '-'  button at the bottom.

• Some adware applications set SOCKS proxy to manipulate your internet traffic. Remove unwanted proxies:

1. 1. In System Preferences, click Network, Advanced, Proxies.
   2. If a proxy is set without your permission, uncheck it and click OK.

(Optional) Delete malicious files

Some malicious apps leave behind dangerous files in your Library folders. Delete files related to Pop-ups - App "Wants Access to Control Safari".

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go -> Computer.
3. In the search box, type in App Wants Access to Control Safari and variations of it.
4. Delete the files that are found and that seem to be related to Pop-ups - App "Wants Access to Control Safari".