How to Reset All LockDown Browser Permissions on Mac (Clean Slate)

Last updated 2026-05-01 · LDBypass Editorial

When to do a full permission reset

Run the full reset when:

• LDB shows "Permission denied" but System Settings shows the permission allowed.
• Permission toggles in System Settings won't persist across launches.
• You've clicked "Allow" on the same permission multiple times and it keeps re-prompting.
• After a macOS update that may have left TCC in an inconsistent state.
• Before a high-stakes exam, as preventive maintenance.

The complete reset procedure

Run in order. Quit LockDown Browser first (force-quit if needed: ⌘+⌥+Esc).

Step 1 - Reset every TCC permission for LDB at the system level

tccutil reset Camera com.respondus.lockdownbrowser
tccutil reset Microphone com.respondus.lockdownbrowser
tccutil reset ScreenCapture com.respondus.lockdownbrowser
tccutil reset Accessibility com.respondus.lockdownbrowser
tccutil reset SystemPolicyAllFiles com.respondus.lockdownbrowser
tccutil reset PostEvent com.respondus.lockdownbrowser
tccutil reset ListenEvent com.respondus.lockdownbrowser

Each command resets one TCC service for LDB. tccutil requires no admin password; it operates on the user's TCC database. Apple documents it in the man tccutil page on every macOS install.

Step 2 - Remove LDB from System Settings privacy lists

1. System Settings → Privacy & Security.
2. For each of: Camera, Microphone, Screen & System Audio Recording, Accessibility, Full Disk Access, Input Monitoring - find LockDown Browser, click it, click the (-) minus button, confirm removal.

Step 3 - Clear LDB cached state (optional but recommended)

rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/LockDown\ Browser/
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/com.respondus.lockdownbrowser/

Step 4 - Restart your Mac

Forces all macOS services that cache TCC state to refresh. After login, do not open any other app first.

Step 5 - Relaunch LDB from your LMS

Sign in to your LMS, navigate to the assessment, click the LDB launch link. macOS prompts for each required permission fresh. Click Allow on each. The permission state is now clean.

Why the system-level reset (tccutil) is needed in addition to System Settings

The toggles in System Settings affect a database file at ~/Library/Application Support/com.apple.TCC/TCC.db. Toggling off doesn't always trigger the same TCC framework signals that tccutil reset sends. Combining both (Settings remove + tccutil reset) is what guarantees a clean first-launch state.

If the reset doesn't fix the underlying issue

Some symptoms are not permission issues even if they look like them:

• Camera not detected → another app is holding the camera (see camera fix).
• Microphone silence → wrong input device or muted (see microphone fix).
• Screen Recording re-prompting every launch → Sequoia 15.3+ behavior, not a bug (see screen recording page).