Resetting Local Network Privacy
Of all the privacy protections in macOS, those for local networking are among the most recent and the least understood.
[…]
All non-exempted apps and other processes start without any privilege. Those that try to make a local network connection result in the user being prompted to allow or deny their access. Your decision is then recorded in that app’s new entry in the Local Network section, and you can then set that to allow or deny its future access. For that to happen, the responsible app needs an additional item in its property list to explain to you why it requires that access, something that should appear in any prompt for access.
[…]
A process with a short life that immediately fails if it can’t complete a local network operation may not trigger a user prompt, and can continue to fail repeatedly as it can’t be granted the privilege. Apple recommends changing the code so that it doesn’t exit immediately after failure, to allow the prompt to be displayed and access granted.
Another clue came in the statement in that note that “on macOS there’s no way to reset your program’s Local Network privilege to the undetermined state”. This contrasts with pretty well every other category of privacy protection, which are handled by the dreaded TCC, Transparency Consent and Control.
This has now changed in macOS 27.2.
During testing, you might want to reset your program’s Local Network privilege to the undetermined state. Your options for this vary by platform.
On iOS, the easiest option is to delete your app.
Alternatively, if you don’t want to delete your app for some reason, reset the entire privacy subsystem using Settings > General > Transfer or Reset > Reset > Reset Location & Privacy.
On macOS, the list in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network has add (+) and remove (-) buttons. To reset your program’s Local Network privilege, select it in the list and click the remove button.
Previously:
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Hey Apple… ya know what might be a BETTER way to handle this on iOS? Why not make each app's Settings > Apps pane a bit more, uh, better… yeah, a bit more better. Each app's Settings > Apps > pane should collect ALL of the various settings/configurations/actionable things for that app that you've buried all over in Settings in that ONE place. It should list there all of the privileges an app has requested, so users can EASILY see what the app is doing with their data/network. Local Network: On|Off. Show the Cellular Data usage for the period. Ooooh, this one is a biggie for me: put the options to Offload App and Delete App that are buried in Settings > General > iP[hone|ad] Storage > app here! Because nobody knows where that actually exists as it is. Oh, and while you're doing that, also display the app's version and vendor information listed at the top of that page on the app's Settings pane too. Because… really… that's where normal people would expect it to be. (Bonus points if you let the developer put the same link there that they use on the App Store to their Support website.) Convenient, no? Get crackin'.
It's wild that Apple feels it can give advice like that to iOS users with a straight face. Just like they suggest clearing privacy settings to throw away lockdown credentials for Wi-Fi syncing. 'I guess we're all helpless tenants of this slum town now. FFS.
