macOS protects personal files, application data, and system locations by limiting what each app can access. diCleaner requests permission only when a selected tool needs information that macOS does not make available automatically.
You can use diCleaner without granting every permission. A denied permission normally means that the affected location is skipped, so the scan may show fewer files or an incomplete size total.
Permission types used by diCleaner
diCleaner may use several different macOS access mechanisms. They are controlled separately and serve different purposes.
Home Folder Access
The App Store edition may ask you to select your Home folder. This saved folder authorization allows supported tools to scan locations inside your user account, calculate sizes, find application-related data, and remove items you explicitly select.
The authorization applies to the selected folder and its accessible contents. It does not grant unrestricted access to every protected system location.
Full Disk Access
Full Disk Access is a macOS privacy permission managed in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access. It helps diCleaner inspect supported protected locations such as system Trash, certain logs, and protected application containers.
Folder access and Full Disk Access are not interchangeable. A tool may need folder authorization to enter a selected folder and Full Disk Access to read a protected item inside it.
Selected folder access
Some tools ask you to choose an individual folder or disk. Examples include analyzing an external disk, scanning Downloads, or searching a custom location.
This approach lets you grant access only to the location you want to scan. diCleaner can save supported folder authorizations so that you do not need to select the same location every time.
Photos and media access
macOS may request access associated with the Photos library or Apple media data when a supported scan needs to inspect that information. The system prompt explains which category of access is being requested.
These permissions do not cause your files to be uploaded. They allow local features to read supported information on the Mac.
Administrator authorization
Some changes to protected system-owned items may cause macOS to request an administrator name, password, or Touch ID confirmation. This is an action-specific authorization, not a permanent permission to perform every administrator operation.
Only approve the macOS authorization dialog when the described action matches what you chose in diCleaner.
Which tools may need access
The required permission depends on both the tool and the selected location.
| Tool or task | Access that may be needed | What happens without it |
|---|---|---|
| Junk Files | Home folder, selected folders, or Full Disk Access | Protected or inaccessible categories may be skipped |
| System Trash | Full Disk Access; Home folder access in supported editions | Some Trash locations may appear empty |
| Mail Attachments Cache | Home folder or selected Mail data location | Mail attachment results may be incomplete |
| System Update Cache | Home folder, folder access, or action authorization | Some update files may not be shown or removable |
| Uninstall Apps | Home folder and sometimes Full Disk Access | Protected containers and related files may remain |
| Leftovers | Home folder and sometimes Full Disk Access | Some application remnants may not appear |
| Space Analyzer | Access to the selected disk or folder | Inaccessible folders are omitted from totals |
| Large, duplicate, and similar file scans | Access to the selected scan location | The tool cannot search locations it cannot read |
| Downloads or screenshots | Home folder or the selected folder | The tool cannot list files in the denied location |
| Photo metadata | Access to the selected files or Photos data | Protected photos cannot be inspected or changed |
The table describes possible access, not a promise that every scan will show every prompt. macOS can remember a previous decision, and different editions of diCleaner operate under different sandbox rules.
Review permission status in diCleaner
- Open diCleaner.
- Open Settings.
- Select Privacy.
- Review the status shown under Permissions.
- Use the available button to open macOS settings or request Home Folder Access.
The Privacy page can report whether Full Disk Access appears enabled and, in the App Store edition, whether diCleaner has a saved authorization covering the Home folder.
If you recently changed a system permission, quit and reopen diCleaner before relying on the displayed status.
Grant a permission when a tool asks
Before approving a prompt:
- Confirm that you intentionally opened the tool shown behind the prompt.
- Read the macOS message and identify the requested location or data type.
- Choose the narrowest access that allows the task you want to complete.
- Return to the tool and start a new scan.
A scan that began before permission was granted may not automatically revisit skipped locations. Starting a new scan ensures the result reflects the current access.
Decline or postpone a permission
You can choose Don’t Allow, cancel a folder picker, or close diCleaner’s permission explanation. The affected tool may:
- Continue with a partial result.
- Show an access-required message.
- Return to its initial screen.
- Ask again the next time you explicitly start the same task.
Declining access does not delete or modify your files. If the current result appears smaller than expected, treat it as incomplete rather than assuming the missing files do not exist.
Remove Home Folder Access
In editions that store Home folder authorization:
- Open diCleaner Settings.
- Select Privacy.
- Find Home Folder Access.
- Choose Remove Access.
- Confirm the removal.
This deletes diCleaner’s saved authorization bookmark. It does not remove files, alter Full Disk Access, or change unrelated permissions in System Settings.
The next tool that needs the Home folder may ask you to select it again.
Revoke access in macOS
Permissions managed by macOS are changed in System Settings:
- Open System Settings.
- Select Privacy & Security.
- Open the relevant permission category.
- Turn off diCleaner or remove it from the list when macOS provides that option.
- Quit and reopen diCleaner.
Revoking access prevents future use of that permission. It does not undo a cleanup you previously confirmed and does not restore removed files.
Permission status looks incorrect
If diCleaner reports that access is unavailable after you enabled it:
- Confirm that you enabled the correct copy of diCleaner. An App Store build, direct-download build, beta, or duplicate app can appear as separate entries.
- Quit diCleaner completely and reopen it.
- If necessary, turn the permission off, restart the Mac, and enable it again.
- Keep diCleaner in a stable location such as Applications rather than moving or renaming it repeatedly.
- Start a new scan instead of reusing results created before the permission changed.
If macOS no longer shows diCleaner in a permission list, open the related tool again so the app can trigger the appropriate request, or use the button in Settings → Privacy.
Privacy and data handling
Permissions allow diCleaner to perform the local action you selected. Local scanning does not upload file contents.
Online Information & Comments is separate from macOS file permissions. It runs through a supported information button and, when set to Ask Next Time, shows the details proposed for transmission. Granting Full Disk Access or folder access does not enable automatic online transmission.
Use the minimum access you are comfortable with
You do not need to enable every permission in advance. A practical approach is:
- Open the tool you want to use.
- Read why it needs access.
- Grant only the access required for that task.
- Review the scan result.
- Revoke saved access later if you no longer want the tool to revisit that location.
This may produce more prompts than granting broad access at the beginning, but it gives you tighter control over which locations diCleaner can inspect.