Little Snitch for Mac

A firewall protects your computer against unwanted guests from the Internet. But who protects your private data from being sent out? Little Snitch does!

Little Snitch informs you whenever a program attempts to establish an outgoing Internet connection. You can then choose to allow or deny this connection, or define a rule how to handle similar, future connection attempts.

This reliably prevents private data from being sent out without your knowledge. Little Snitch for Mac runs inconspicuously in the background and it can also detect network related activity of viruses, trojans and other malware.

Features and Highlights

Silent Mode – Decide Later
There are times where you don’t want to get interrupted by any network related notifications. With Silent Mode you can quickly choose to silence all connection warnings for a while. You can then later review the Silent Mode Log to define permanent rules for connection attempts that occurred during that time.

Research Assistant
Have you ever wondered why a process you’ve never heard of before suddenly wants to connect to some server on the Internet? The Research Assistant helps you to find the answer. It only takes one click on the research button to anonymously request additional information for the current connection from the Research Assistant Database.

Automatic Profile Switching
Rules can be arranged in different profiles like “Home”, “Office” or “Mobile Internet”. This allows you to use different sets of filter rules depending on the network you are currently connected to. Profiles can be activated either manually from the status menu, or automatically, whenever you join a network that’s associated with one of your profiles.

Firewall for incoming connections
Little Snitch for macOS not only reveals any outgoing network connection attempt to make sure that sensitive data doesn’t leave your computer without your consent. The inbound firewall in LittleSnitch provides you with the same level of control for incoming connections.

How to Use

Open the app and allow necessary system permissions

Configure rules for apps accessing the internet

Use the Network Monitor to view real-time connections

Create custom profiles for different network scenarios

Allow or deny connections with one-click decisions

Review past connections via the connection history

Enable Silent Mode to auto-collect rules quietly

Set up notifications for suspicious network activity

Export and import rules for backup or sharing

System Requirements

• macOS 11 Big Sur or later
• 64-bit Intel or Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3)
• At least 200 MB of free disk space
• Internet connection for initial activation
• Administrator privileges for installation

PROS

• Real-time network traffic monitoring
• Fine-grained control over app connections
• Silent Mode for background rule creation
• Sleek and intuitive user interface
• Lightweight and low resource usage

CONS

• Can be overwhelming for beginners
• Requires frequent user decisions
• Some apps may not work without rules
• Paid license required after trial
• Limited support for automation tasks

Note: Requires 64-bit processor. The demo runs for three hours, and it can be restarted as often as you like. The Network Monitor expires after 30 days.