Help · Guides · Pangalin Uninstaller
How to check an app is genuine.
Fake copies of popular apps get passed around on look-alike download sites. Pangalin Uninstaller's Genuine? check reads, on your Mac, who signed each app, whether it's been changed since, whether Apple notarised it, and where you downloaded it from. It runs by itself in the background for every app in the list and shows the result as a coloured tick. It's free and doesn't go online unless you ask it to.
Read the ticks
- Open Pangalin Uninstaller and click Apps. Each app gets a coloured tick once it's been checked; a big app can take a few seconds.
- Not sure what a colour means? Click ⓘ next to the app count at the top of the list for What the ticks mean. The same key is in Settings › Ticks.
- For the details, select the app. Under Genuine? its details show five lines: Signed by, Signature, Notarised, Developer and Downloaded. Check again reads them again on your Mac.
What the colours mean
- Gold: known developer. The signature is intact, Apple notarised it (or it's from the Mac App Store), and its Team ID matches the developer on Pangalin Uninstaller's built-in list.
- Green: signed and notarised. An identified developer signed it and the signature is intact. That developer isn't on the built-in list, so it can only tell you who signed it.
- Amber: unsigned or broken. No developer signature, or the app's files changed after it was signed (an app updating itself can cause this). Only keep it if you trust where it came from.
- Red: possible fake. An app on the built-in list signed by a different developer, or Apple revoked its signature. Don't open it.
Results are remembered until the app changes. To check every app again on your Mac, click the seal menu next to the app count and choose Check all again.
What the lines mean
- Signed by names the developer certificate and its Team ID, or says the app is from the Mac App Store, is Apple's, is signed without a developer certificate (“ad hoc”), or isn't signed at all.
- Signature should say Intact: the app hasn't been changed since it was signed. Broken means the app was changed after signing, or is damaged. Revoked by Apple means Apple has withdrawn it.
- Notarised says whether Apple's notarisation ticket is attached or already recorded on your Mac. Mac App Store apps are reviewed by Apple instead.
- Developer confirms the signer matches the real developer, but only for apps on Pangalin Uninstaller's built-in list of known developers (such as Chrome, Microsoft Office, VS Code, VLC, Adobe Acrobat, TeamViewer, ChatGPT, Claude, WhatsApp, Ollama and Canva). For any other app it can tell you who signed it, not whether that's who made it.
- Downloaded shows which app downloaded it, when and from which address, from macOS's own download record. No record is normal for apps from the App Store, an installer, Homebrew or another Mac.
A red warning means don't open it. If a listed app is signed by someone else, the check says so and names the Team ID a real copy uses. Move it to the Trash and download it again from the developer's own website. A pass means the signature checks out; it never means an app is safe.
Ask Apple too
The check works offline, so a very recent revocation may not show yet. For a signed app, click Ask Apple too in its details: macOS's own services ask Apple's servers whether the certificate or notarisation was revoked, and run Gatekeeper's check. Apple receives details that identify the app's signature, not your files. The answer appears as Apple says.
To ask about every app at once, click the seal menu next to the app count and choose Ask Apple about all apps…. It goes online, so it asks you to confirm first, and you can click Stop while it runs.
The built-in way: Terminal
macOS has the same checks in Terminal. Replace the path with your app's:
codesign -dv --verbose=2 /Applications/Example.appshows who signed it and the Team ID.codesign --verify --deep --strict /Applications/Example.appprints nothing if the signature is intact.spctl --assess -vv /Applications/Example.appshows whether Gatekeeper accepts it and whether it's notarised.
Related guides
Checked against Pangalin Uninstaller 1.8, 10 October 2026.