Free remote access to a Mac: download, install and grant permissions

Installing on a Mac is easy, but there are two points where macOS will stop you without explaining why. Knowing about them in advance turns the whole thing into about three minutes; not knowing them means a long stare at a window saying the app cannot be opened.

Which build you need

One build covers both Apple silicon (M1, M2, M3 and later) and Intel Macs — there is nothing to choose. It needs macOS 13 Ventura or later.

The download is a compressed archive. Double-click to expand it into ChatRemote.app, then drag that into your Applications folder. Running it from Downloads works too, but keeping it in Applications is what makes the permissions you are about to grant stick.

First stop: Gatekeeper

On the first launch macOS may refuse to open the app. What to do:

Open System Settings → Privacy & Security.
Scroll down: there will be a line saying ChatRemote was blocked, with an Open Anyway button.
Click it and confirm.

You only do this once.

Second stop: two system permissions

This is where most people get stuck, because without the permissions the app still runs perfectly normally — it just cannot do its job, and it does not tell you.

Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and enable ChatRemote under both:

Screen & System Audio Recording — without it, the other side sees a black screen. This is the permission to capture the display; macOS requires it of every application.
Accessibility — without it they can see the screen but mouse and keyboard do nothing. This is the permission to inject input.

After enabling Screen Recording, macOS usually requires a full quit and relaunch before it takes effect. Closing the window is not enough — press Cmd + Q and open it again.

How you know you granted enough

You do not have to guess. If a permission is missing, the person doing the controlling gets a message naming exactly which one — rather than sitting in front of a black screen with no idea what happened.

That is deliberate: an error has to surface where someone can act on it. The remote person is the one who needs to know why the mouse is not responding, so they can call and ask the owner to grant it.

The first run

The app shows a machine code and a 6-digit password. Read both to whoever is helping you and that is it.

If this is your own Mac and you want to reach it remotely, sign in to the same account on both machines — they recognise each other, stay paired permanently, and nothing needs approving. Remember to enable start-with-login, or one reboot removes your way in.

A Mac works in both directions

Being controlled — fully, once the two permissions above are granted.
Controlling others — yes, and this needs no installation at all: open the web app in a browser and you are set.

From a Mac you can reach Windows machines, other Macs and Android devices. iPhone and iPad you cannot — iOS gives third-party apps no way to capture the whole screen or accept control input, and that is an Apple restriction applying to every remote desktop tool.

One detail specific to the Mac build

While a session is running, clicking the red close button does not end it — the window simply moves out of view while the session continues. That is intentional: accidentally closing a window while someone is repairing your machine is far more disruptive.

To actually stop, press the stop button on the red bar showing on screen, or quit the app with Cmd + Q.

Removing it

Drag ChatRemote.app to the Trash. Then go back into Privacy & Security and remove the two permissions — macOS keeps them even after the app is gone.