How to Open Chrometa on a Mac When It Says "From an Unidentified Developer"

Is your Mac preventing you from opening Chrometa, citing it's from an unidentified developer? Here's how you can allow apps from unidentified developers on your Mac.

Apple restricts the apps you can install to protect you from malware and ensure a smooth user experience. However, it can be frustrating if you're trying to run an app and are faced with a warning that it’s from an unidentified developer.

Fortunately, there is a way to open and run these apps, and I’ll guide you through it. However, be cautious: only proceed if you're confident that the developer, software, and distribution method are trustworthy, as legitimate apps can sometimes be compromised.

Why Am I Seeing the Unidentified Developer Warning?

Apple tightly controls the apps available for its devices, including Macs, iPads, and iPhones. While the Mac is more flexible than iOS—where the only way to get third-party apps is through the iOS App Store—there are still several restrictions before certain third-party apps can be installed and run on a Mac.

With the release of macOS Catalina in October 2019, Apple made its Gatekeeper security feature more rigorous. Previously, you could bypass Gatekeeper using Terminal, but now Gatekeeper will still perform its checks even if you launch an app via Terminal. Additionally, Gatekeeper will run these checks every time you open the app.

So, how can you open apps from unidentified developers, and how can you stop the warning from appearing every time you open an app?

Apple Security: How to Open Chrometa If Blocked by Apple

If macOS prevents you from opening an app, it doesn’t necessarily mean the app is harmful. It simply indicates the app isn't from an "identified developer," meaning the developer hasn’t enrolled in Apple’s developer program to gain Apple’s trust.

Fortunately, you can bypass this block and open the app. Here’s how:

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Navigate to Security & Privacy and select the General tab.
3. If you've been blocked from opening Chrometa within the last hour, this page will display a temporary option to override the block by clicking Open Anyway.
4. You’ll be prompted one more time to confirm. Clicking Open will run Chrometa.

This creates an exception for Chrometa, so you won’t have to repeat this process the next time you open the app.

Keep in mind that Gatekeeper will still prevent you from opening any app known to contain malware.