How to Allow Apps from

Anywhere in macOS Sierra

Gatekeeper

Gatekeeper in macOS Sierra is now stricter than ever, defaulting to only

allow options for apps downloaded from either the App Store or the App
Store and identified developers. Advanced Mac users may wish to allow a
third option, which is the ability to open and allow apps downloaded from
anywhere in macOS Sierra.

To be clear, the “Allow applications downloaded from anywhere” option is

hidden by default in Gatekeeper for macOS Sierra. You can see this by
going to the Security & Privacy preference panel, and under the “General”
section you will not find such an option for Gatekeeper app allow settings.
Despite that, with a little command line intervention you can reveal the
third option and regain the ability to open apps that come from anywhere.

This is not recommended for most Mac users, only advanced Mac users
and developers who have the ability to accurately gauge app validity should
use this method, which involves disabling Gatekeeper from the command
line, thereby removing the standard Gatekeeper security mechanisms in
Mac OS.

How to Allow Apps from Anywhere in Gatekeeper

for macOS Sierra

1. Quit out of System Preferences

2. Open the Terminal app from the /Applications/Utilities/ folder and
then enter the following command syntax:

sudo spctl --master-disable

3. Hit return and authenticate with an admin password

4. Relaunch System Preferences and go to “Security & Privacy” and the

“General” tab
5. You will now see the “Anywhere” option under ‘Allow apps
downloaded from:’ Gatekeeper options
You’ll now be able to open and launch apps from anywhere under macOS
Sierra, but be forewarned this turns off Gatekeeper and is not
recommended for the vast majority of Mac users. Allowing apps from
anywhere including unidentified developers can potentially leave a Mac
vulnerable to certain malware and junkware and should be avoided by all
Mac users with the exception of those with genuinely advanced abilities.

Another approach is to manually add Gatekeeper exceptions via the

command line, a solution which may be more appropriate than simply
allowing everything to skirt past Gatekeeper.

Returning to Default Gatekeeper Security in

macOS Sierra

You can also reverse this and go back to the default strict Gatekeeper
settings of only allowing apps from the Mac App Store and identified
developers by issuing the following command string:
sudo spctl --master-enable

Hitting return and re-authenticating will return macOS Gatekeeper back to

its strict default state of disallowing random apps from launching.

Nearly every Mac user should leave this feature enabled in the default
state. If you do not have the ability to easily discern which apps are
legitimate or not, you should absolutely not change this option. The “app
can’t be opened because it is from an unidentified developer” message is
there to offer protection to the vast majority of Mac users and should not
be ignored.