How do I disable 'Do you want to open this file?' prompt for multiple downloads on MacBook M1

I am a photographer and I download hundreds of photos at a time from Dropbox. After my latest MacOS update I am not able to open them all without individually answering the question about whether I really want to open them. It is beyond tedious to answer that question a hundred times. Does anyone know a way to turn this off? Thank you in advance for any help


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: HOW TO STOP MY MACBOOK m1 from asking if I want to open a file downloaded from the internet

Posted on Jul 14, 2025 03:41 PM

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1 reply

Jul 22, 2025 02:23 AM in response to suzijavor

One-time download:

  • When you select multiple files at once (Say 26 files) and try to open them, macOS shows a single prompt:

“Are you sure you want to open 26 items?”

  • After confirming, all selected files open without further prompts.


But:

  • If you double-click each file one by one (rather than selecting all and opening together), you’ll get the “Do you want to open this file?” prompt each time.
  • This is because each file carries the quarantine flag, and macOS checks it per file unless handled as a group.


Apple doesn’t provide a system-wide toggle for this because it’s part of their security framework. There is no safe way to fully disable it across the system without compromising Gatekeeper, which is not recommended.


Are you referring to this?


Here’s an example of the macOS Finder warning you’re seeing—when you select multiple files (like photos) and open them, it pops up the dialog:


This prompt is macOS’s way of guarding against opening potentially unsafe files in bulk—especially from internet downloads—and it triggers due to the quarantine flag each file carries when downloaded.

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How do I disable 'Do you want to open this file?' prompt for multiple downloads on MacBook M1

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