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Is there a fix for the Safari connection not private bug in macOS Tahoe?
The persistent “This connection is not private” error in Safari on macOS Tahoe presents a significant workflow interruption for users. This guide explains the technical nuances of the issue, details user experiences, and clarifies the current lack of official resolution.
Understanding the Glitch
The core problem lies within Safari’s certificate validation interface on macOS Tahoe (specifically version 26.2, build 25C56) and iOS/iPadOS 26.2. When Safari encounters a website with an invalid, expired, or self-signed SSL certificate, it correctly flags the site as insecure.
Normally, users can bypass this warning by clicking “Show Details” and selecting “visit this website” to manually trust the certificate. However, in the current iteration of macOS Tahoe, the “Show Details” button is unresponsive. Clicking it yields no action, effectively locking the user out of the website.
Technical Limitations Compared to Competitors
This defect isolates Safari users. Competing browsers such as Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox continue to function correctly, allowing users to add security exceptions and proceed to the target site. This discrepancy suggests the issue is intrinsic to Safari’s rendering engine or UI handling within the Tahoe environment, rather than a system-wide network protocol failure.
Further complicating the issue, the “Connection Security Details” option within the Safari menu bar is frequently greyed out for affected users. This prevents access to certificate hierarchies and encryption details, making manual troubleshooting impossible.
Status of the Fix
Despite reports dating back to the initial beta testing phases of macOS Tahoe, the bug persists in the stable release. Apple has not yet officially acknowledged this specific failure in their release notes or support documentation. Consequently, there is no confirmed timeline for a patch.
Until a system update addresses the “Show Details” UI failure, users requiring access to internal tools or development sites with self-signed certificates are advised to temporarily utilize alternative browsers.