Permissions Guide
Murmur uses four macOS permissions. This guide covers exactly which features each one unlocks, what still works without it, and how to repair permissions when macOS misbehaves. For the quick first-run version, see Permissions in Getting Started.
Check the live status of every permission in Settings > Permissions, which shows each one with a Grant button and a Refresh Status action. Murmur also re-checks automatically whenever you switch back to the app, so changes made in System Settings are picked up immediately.
Microphone — required
System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone
| Unlocks | Without it |
|---|---|
| Dictation, voice notes, meeting recording, teleprompter voice tracking | You can still import audio files for transcription and read your History |
macOS shows a standard Allow dialog on first recording. Audio is processed on your Mac; recordings are never sent to a server unless you explicitly choose a cloud engine.
Input Monitoring — required
System Settings > Privacy & Security > Input Monitoring
| Unlocks | Without it |
|---|---|
| Global hotkeys — dictation, command mode, and notes shortcuts from any app | No global hotkeys; Murmur is effectively unusable as a system-wide tool |
Murmur listens only for your configured hotkeys via a listen-only event tap. No keystrokes are logged or stored. macOS does not show a dialog for this permission — you grant it manually in System Settings (use the + button and pick Murmur from Applications if it is not listed).
Accessibility — recommended
System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility
| Unlocks | Without it |
|---|---|
| Auto-paste at your cursor; cursor/text-field context; browser URL extraction; document paths | Text goes to the clipboard and you paste with ⌘V; context-aware AI drops to a lower level |
This one permission powers both the convenience feature (auto-paste) and most of the smart-context features. It is used solely to paste transcribed text and read context near your cursor — Murmur cannot and does not modify other apps' content.
Screen Recording — optional
System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording
| Unlocks | Without it |
|---|---|
| Window titles from all apps: editor file/project names, terminal directory, document names — the "Full" context level | AI refinement is more generic; everything else works normally |
Despite the scary name, Murmur reads only window titles — never screen contents, pixels, or images. It exists purely to feed context-aware AI.
Permissions and context levels
Context-aware AI scales with what you have granted:
| Granted | Context level |
|---|---|
| Neither Accessibility nor Screen Recording | Basic — app category only |
| Screen Recording only | Medium — adds window titles |
| Accessibility only | High — adds browser URLs, cursor context, document paths |
| Both | Full — everything |
Details in Context Settings.
Fixing broken permissions
macOS's permission database (TCC) occasionally gets confused, especially after app updates or macOS upgrades. Symptoms: a permission shows as granted in System Settings but the feature does not work, or Murmur keeps re-asking.
The reliable fix is remove and re-add:
- Open the relevant pane in System Settings > Privacy & Security.
- Select Murmur in the list and remove it (the − button).
- Click +, choose Murmur from your Applications folder, and toggle it on.
- Back in Murmur, click Refresh Status in Settings > Permissions.
For Input Monitoring specifically, a restart of Murmur after re-granting helps macOS register the event tap cleanly.
Revoking permissions
Revoke anything at any time from the same panes. Murmur degrades gracefully: auto-paste falls back to the clipboard, context-aware AI falls back to a lower level, and nothing else is affected.
Murmur never collects personal data through these permissions. Each is used only for the feature it unlocks, and all processing stays on your Mac unless you explicitly configured a cloud provider.