Apple will make USB-C accessories ask for your permission to pass data

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Are you the kind of person who wouldn't want to use a public charging station? There is a feature seemingly designed to address tampering fears in the first version of Apple's new operating system. It will make the accessories explicitly ask for your permission before they can communicate with MacBooks with Apple's M1 or M2 chips.

The feature is described in the release notes.

On portable Mac computers with Apple silicon, new USB and Thunderbolt accessories require user approval before the accessory can communicate with macOS for connections wired directly to the USB-C port. This doesn’t apply to power adapters, standalone displays, or connections to an approved hub. Devices can still charge if you choose Don’t Allow.

You can change the security configuration in System Settings > Security and Privacy > Security. The initial configuration is Ask for new accessories. Configuring an accessibility Switch Control sets the policy to always allow accessory use. Approved devices can connect to a locked Mac for up to three days.

Accessories attached during software update from prior versions of macOS are allowed automatically. New accessories attached prior to rebooting the Mac might enumerate and function, but won’t be remembered until connected to an unlocked Mac and explicitly approved.

I have read through a few times and have not seen a downside. If you don't want your MacBooks bugged, you can turn the whole thing off. Apple isn't trying to create a new certification, you're the one in control It seems like it is just an extra protection from potentially malicious or non- compliant gadgets, both of which have damaged MacBooks recently.

It is possible that it will be a more realistic solution than the one that was launched in the year 2019.

Apple might not be able to stop gadgets that try to fry computers by overloading their ports with too much power. One of the issues that the USB-IF was trying to address was inappropriate power.

We are eagerly awaiting the chargers, laptops and external batteries that might go with them, as the first 240WUSB-CPD cables broke cover, and it is set for a big boost soon.

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