The .dmg installer is notarized, so there's no Gatekeeper warning to click through. The step that trips people up isn't the install — it's the two permissions macOS requires afterward.
Guardrail currently supports Apple Silicon Macs only (M1, M2, M3, M4 and later) — not Intel Macs. To check: Apple menu → About This Mac → look at the Chip field. If it says "Intel," Guardrail isn't available for your Mac yet.
Get it from the download page. It downloads to your Downloads folder.
Double-click the downloaded file to open it, then drag the Guardrail icon into the Applications folder shortcut shown in the same window.
Because the app is notarized, it opens directly — no "unidentified developer" warning to click through.
Guardrail will prompt you, or you can go directly to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and toggle Guardrail on. If Guardrail isn't in the list, click the + button and add it from your Applications folder.
Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording and toggle Guardrail on. macOS will likely ask you to quit and reopen Guardrail for this to take effect — go ahead and do that.
Reopen Guardrail after granting both permissions. Once both are enabled, Guardrail is actively protecting you — no restart of your Mac required.
Both are standard macOS gates for any app that inspects what's on your screen or across other apps — here's exactly what each one does and how to check it.
Why: lets Guardrail see text and content as you work across other apps, so it can catch sensitive data before it reaches an AI tool — regardless of which app you're typing into.
Why: lets Guardrail read on-screen content (like an uploaded document or an image about to be shared with AI) so it can flag sensitive information visually, not just from typed text.
Email us and we'll walk you through it directly.
