Permissions setup
This page is macOS-only: Windows has no privacy-permission model, and the Windows build skips the permission checklist.
Petal needs a handful of macOS privacy permissions to work. It asks for them one at a time the first time you launch the app, and you can revisit all of them later from Settings → Permissions.
Three of the four — Screen Recording, Microphone, and Accessibility — are required: setup won’t let you continue into the app until they’re granted, and if one is later revoked, Petal takes you back through setup on the next launch. Camera is optional and can be skipped.
The four permissions
Section titled “The four permissions”Screen Recording
Section titled “Screen Recording”Petal can only share the windows you choose. Nothing else is visible unless you explicitly share it — but macOS still requires Screen Recording access before Petal can capture any window content at all.
This is required to complete setup.
Microphone
Section titled “Microphone”Lets teammates hear you when you join a meeting.
This is required to complete setup.
Camera
Section titled “Camera”Lets teammates see you on camera when you want. This is the one optional permission: you can skip it during setup, always join meetings with your camera off, and grant it later from Settings → Permissions if you change your mind.
Accessibility
Section titled “Accessibility”Petal uses this to replay approved remote-control clicks and keystrokes into a window you’re sharing — so a teammate can drive your shared window when you let them. Without it, remote control into your shared windows won’t work.
This is required to complete setup.
Granting a permission
Section titled “Granting a permission”When Petal asks for a permission, click its action button (for example, Allow Microphone). macOS shows its own system prompt — approve it there.
macOS only picks up a fresh Screen Recording or Accessibility grant after the app restarts, so when you grant one of these during setup, Petal restarts itself automatically (you’ll briefly see a “Relaunching Petal” notice). If the automatic restart doesn’t go through, setup shows a Relaunch now button instead.
If you denied a permission by accident
Section titled “If you denied a permission by accident”During setup, a denied permission row shows an Open System Settings button, and a Recheck permissions button appears below the checklist — grant the permission in System Settings, then click it to pick up the change.
After setup, open Settings inside Petal and go to the Permissions section. Any permission that’s currently off shows as needing attention, with the same Open System Settings button. Clicking it takes you straight to the correct System Settings privacy pane for that permission (Screen Recording, Microphone, Camera, or Accessibility) instead of the general Privacy & Security list. For Screen Recording, macOS may offer to quit and reopen Petal when you flip the toggle — accept that, or relaunch Petal yourself, so the new grant takes effect.