Granting macOS Permissions for Time Tracking

RescueTime requires two macOS permissions to track your activity accurately: Accessibility and Automation.

You're prompted to grant these during installation. If you skipped them, declined, or are missing website detail tracking, this article explains what each permission does and how to enable it.

What each permission does

Accessibility

Allows RescueTime to read the window titles of the applications you're using. This is required to track which app or document is active at any given time. Without it, RescueTime can see that an app is open but not what you're doing inside it.

Automation

Allows RescueTime to communicate with your web browsers to capture the specific website you're visiting. This is required for website detail tracking. Without it, browser time is recorded as a single activity (e.g., "Chrome") with no site-level breakdown. You may be prompted to grant this separately for each browser you use.

💡 Granting these permissions does not give RescueTime control of your computer. They allow RescueTime to read information about your activity. Your macOS password is only used to authenticate the permission change in System Settings; it is not viewed or stored by RescueTime.

Enable Accessibility permissions

If you're missing activity detail tracking or were prompted during installation and declined, follow these steps:

Open System Settings

Click the Apple menu in the top left of your screen and select System Settings.
Go to Privacy & Security → Accessibility

In the left sidebar, click Privacy & Security, then scroll down and select Accessibility.
Enable RescueTime

If RescueTime appears in the list, toggle it on. If it's not in the list, click the + button, navigate to your Applications folder, and double-click RescueTime to add it. Then toggle it on.

You may be prompted to enter your macOS password to authorize the change.
Restart RescueTime

Quit and reopen RescueTime from your Applications folder for the change to take effect.

Enable Automation permission

macOS prompts you to grant Automation permission the first time RescueTime attempts to communicate with each browser you use. When the prompt appears, click OK.

If you dismissed the prompt or need to check that all your browsers are enabled, follow these steps:

Open System Settings

Click the Apple menu () and select System Settings.
Go to Privacy & Security → Automation

Click Privacy & Security in the sidebar, then scroll down and select Automation.
Check RescueTime's browser permissions

Find RescueTime in the list and expand it. You'll see a checkbox for each browser that has been detected. Make sure every browser you use is checked.

You may be prompted to enter your Mac password to make changes.
Restart RescueTime

Quit and reopen RescueTime for the changes to take effect.

Browser not appearing in the Automation list? A browser only appears here after macOS has attempted to prompt you about it at least once. Open the browser while RescueTime is running, wait a moment, and the prompt should appear. If it doesn't show up in System Settings afterwards, try quitting and relaunching RescueTime, then switching to that browser again.

Still not seeing website details?

If you've granted both permissions and website tracking still isn't working, try these steps:

Confirm RescueTime is toggled on in both Accessibility and Automation.
Quit RescueTime by right-clicking the menu bar icon and choosing "Quit", then relaunch it.
If you recently updated macOS, permissions can be reset. Go through both sections above again to re-enable them
Make sure you're using a supported browser.

If the problem persists, contact support and include your macOS version and the browser you're using.