Internet Access Policy

When an app wants to connect to a server, the hardest part of your decision is often the question “What is this connection for?” An Internet Access Policy (IAP) answers it. It’s a short description, written by the developer of the app, that explains:

what the app is for,
what each of its connections is for,
and what happens if you deny a connection.

Little Snitch shows the IAP in the connection alert, in Network Monitor, and in the Rules window:

Alert with IAP

For third-party apps, the developer supplies the IAP, because only they know what their app’s connections are for. The IAP is a small, machine-readable file inside the app.

For some apps and system processes from Apple, Little Snitch supplies the IAP itself. We compiled these from Apple’s documentation and similar sources.

If you develop apps, see the IAP developer documentation to learn how to add an IAP to yours.