Apple Memory Holes Promise of OCSP Preference ⇥ micro.duckrowing.com

After Apple released Big Sur in 2020, many users were unable to launch applications for several hours because the Online Certificate Status Protocol check was failing. This quickly became a — misguided, in my opinion — privacy fiasco, culminating in a November 2020 support document on Apple’s website documenting the various Gatekeeper checks. Apple also promised to add a “new preference for users to opt out of these security protections” at some point “over the the next year” [sic].

Nearly two full years after a December 2021 deadline, at the latest, no such preference has appeared — and, now, it is likely one never will.

Fred McCann (via Michael Tsai):

Remember when Apple said they’d add a preference to MacOS to let you opt out of gatekeeper checks within a year back in 2020? They’ve silently removed that language from their website.

This is no AirPower, but it is not often Apple announces something and then quietly reneges on it. I am sure there is a reason — there always is — but this preference was promised and quickly forgotten. Apple improved OCSP security, as it said it would, so why is there no option to opt out, not even on the command line?