Software
How to Check Whether a Mac App Is Safe to Install
What Gatekeeper, notarization and permissions do, and a practical routine for vetting an app before you run it.
4 min read
Mac app · Objective Development
Little Snitch
Best for: Seeing and blocking outgoing network connections.
- Best for
- Seeing and blocking outgoing network connections
- Developer
- Objective Development
- Price
- Price not yet verified · check the vendor for current pricing
- Our testing
- Not yet hands-on tested
Visit Little Snitch
Links to the official site. We earn nothing from this link.
Watch: Little Snitch in action
Video from the official obdev YouTube channel. It loads from YouTube's privacy-enhanced domain.
Pricing options
Little Snitch
About €59 one-time
Free limited mode and trial exist
Little Snitch Mini
Free
These prices are approximate and have not been checked against the vendor. Plans and prices change, so confirm on the official site before buying.
Features
- Monitors outgoing connections by app
- Allow or deny connections with rules
- Network Monitor map
- Profiles and blocklists
- Silent mode
Benefits and disadvantages
Benefits
- Reveals which apps phone home
- Fine-grained control
- Respected privacy tool
- Helps spot suspicious activity
Disadvantages (cons)
- Initial rule prompts can be noisy
- Requires some networking knowledge
- Paid upgrades for major versions
- Not a malware scanner
Who should use Little Snitch
- Privacy-conscious users
- Security professionals
- Anyone who wants to control app network access
Use cases
Jobs this app is used for. Select one to see every app in the directory for that job.
Reviews & coverage
No rating yet. We only rate apps after documented hands-on testing. There is no full review of this app yet. How we review
Related guides
Troubleshooting
How to Fix Wi-Fi Disconnecting on Mac
A structured way to work out whether Wi-Fi drops are caused by the Mac, the router, or interference, with fixes in order of risk.
3 min read
Related apps
Other apps that cover the same jobs, closest match first.
1Password
1Password
Password manager with strong sharing and family plans
Security & passwords
Bitwarden
Bitwarden
Open-source password manager with a generous free tier
Security & passwords
Cryptomator
Skymatic
Encrypting files before they reach cloud storage
Security & passwords
Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes
On-demand malware scanning and removal
Security & passwords