MacOS Input Monitoring

[pvoelker]

On MacOS I am using HIDSharp in an API to interface with some USB based quizzing equipment (https://github.com/pvoelker/BriansUsbQuizBoxApi). I am using that API in a MacOS application that is running in 'sandboxed' mode (com.apple.security.app-sandbox). I also enable the 'com.apple.security.device.usb' entitlement as well to allow communication. I need to run in sandboxed mode in order to distribute on the Apple app store.

When I run my app and HIDSharp calls 'GetAllDevices', MacOS throws an input monitoring warning. If I deny access, I can still connect to my quiz equipment. So MacOS must be intelligently only blocking access to keyboard HID interfaces. So my app can still run.

However I would like to avoid getting the warning all together. The app is meant for kids, so I don't want to scare off parents by the 'input monitoring' warning coming up. Has anyone else seen this? Or have found a way to avoid getting the warning?

I have tried using the 'GetHidDevices' method override that takes the VID and PID, however I think 'GetAllDevices' still gets called and then filtering is done afterwards.... Any thoughts or suggestions?

[pvoelker]

I did some more looking around on Apple Dev forums (searched "IOKit input monitoring"). This seems to be a common annoyance. It doesn't seem to take much to trigger it once you start using IOKit on MacOS.

So I think for now I am going to throw a message to the user on first run that they may get the 'input monitoring' message.