---
title: Install illuminate and allow its permissions
description: Install the Mac app, then the macOS permissions it asks for, what each one is for, and what happens without it.
section: Start here
order: 2
updated: 2026-11-05
applies_to: 0.1
related: [get-started]
---
# Install illuminate and allow its permissions

illuminate needs macOS 15 or later.

## Install

1. Sign in on your account's [downloads page](https://account.illu.mov/downloads) and download illuminate.
2. Open the downloaded file and drag **illuminate** to **Applications**.
3. Open illuminate from Applications and sign in with the same Google account.

illuminate updates itself: when a new version is out, it offers to install it.

## The permissions

The first time you open it, illuminate's setup asks for these in this order. macOS shows each request as its own dialog.

| Permission (as macOS names it) | What illuminate uses it for | Without it |
|---|---|---|
| **Screen & System Audio Recording** (required) | Records the screen, window or region you choose, and the sound your Mac plays | illuminate can't record. macOS asks you to quit and reopen illuminate after you allow it |
| **Microphone** (required) | Records your narration | Recordings have no narration, and no report can be written from them |
| **Speech Recognition** (required) | Turns your narration into a timed transcript, on your Mac. Reports are written from it | No transcript, so no reports or documents |
| **Camera** (optional) | The camera bubble in recordings for people, when the camera is on | Recordings work, without the bubble |
| **Accessibility** (optional) | Notes which app and window you're in, so a report can say where things happened | Recordings work, but reports know less about the apps involved |
| **Input Monitoring** (optional) | Notes where you click, so steps line up with what you did. Product tours and click screenshots rely on it | Recordings work, but clicks aren't marked |

## Check or change them later

In illuminate, open **Settings → System Permissions**. Each permission shows whether it's allowed, with a button to ask again, open macOS's settings, or reopen illuminate when macOS needs it.

You can also change them in macOS's own System Settings app: open **Privacy & Security**, then the permission's name.

## On a managed Mac

If your organisation manages your Mac (or Screen Time limits it), a permission may be **restricted**. illuminate shows it as Restricted and setup carries on without it. Ask whoever manages the Mac to allow it if you need what it's for.

## If macOS asks again

If you've used an earlier test version of illuminate, macOS may ask for each permission once more after you install this one. Allow them again and you're set.