Apple works hard to ensure the security of its operating systems and sometimes these security features can be confusing. In recent years, Apple has sandboxed their operating systems. This means that apps only have access to limited parts of your computer’s operating system and files. The reason for this is to prevent rogue apps from accessing data that they shouldn’t be able to read and to prevent malware from installing in certain parts of the system.
Related to this are specific accessibility permissions for apps that use the accessibility framework and automation permissions, for apps that use AppleScript, and other background technologies. You see dialogs asking you to grant these apps the permission to do certain things to your files.
While sandboxing and permissions are a good thing overall, they can be an annoyance. It means that some apps – notably utilities – are limited as to which files they can access on your Mac, and that some app features that you were used to using on your Mac may no longer work. While some of these permission dialogs existed before Mojave, they have become more common and can be confusing.
Read the rest of the article on the Mac Security Blog.