ChatGPT
ChatGPT is an AI assistant for questions, writing, research, creating documents and developing software. It’s made by OpenAI, based in the United States.
Criminals have used its name in fake downloads or scams, so get it only from chatgpt.com.
What it is
People use ChatGPT to explain things, draft writing, research topics and work with documents or code. Since July 2026, the new Mac app includes Chat, Work and Codex. It uses com.openai.codex. The previous app, now called ChatGPT Classic, uses com.openai.chat.
Messages and relevant task content go to OpenAI for processing. With the required permissions, features can read app content, take screenshots, use audio or work with local files. Computer Use can click and type in approved apps. Running a task locally does not mean its content stays on the Mac.
This is OpenAI’s official app. Check important answers and review actions it takes. Personal-account conversations can be used to train models unless you turn off the relevant data-sharing setting. OpenAI requires users to be at least 13, or their country’s minimum consent age, and under-18s need a parent or guardian’s permission.
Who makes it
OpenAI is an AI research and software company founded in 2015, whose business is controlled by the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation. Its legal name is OpenAI OpCo, LLC. Its website is openai.com.
Is it the real one?
Every Mac app carries a signature from the developer who made it. Apple checks who the developer is before handing out the certificate, and macOS refuses to open an app whose signature has been tampered with.
The real ChatGPT is signed by OpenAI OpCo, LLC, Apple team ID 2DC432GLL2. A copy signed by anyone else isn’t from OpenAI. HARD’s Mac app checks this for you; to check by hand, open Terminal and run codesign -dv "/Applications/ChatGPT.app", and look for that TeamIdentifier.
Its bundle ID, the name macOS knows it by, is com.openai.chat or com.openai.codex. Download it only from chatgpt.com, not from an ad or a link someone sends you.
Fakes. In May 2026, Malwarebytes reported a fake ChatGPT download site distributing Odyssey Stealer to Mac users. The malware stole passwords, browser sessions and cryptocurrency wallet data.
What it connects to
In normal use, ChatGPT talks to these places on the internet. A firewall that asks before apps connect, like the one in HARD’s Mac app, will show them.
| Address | Why |
|---|---|
chatgpt.com | Conversations and Codex responses. |
ws.chatgpt.com | Conversation updates and notifications. |
*.oaiusercontent.com | File uploads. |
persistent.oaistatic.com | App downloads and updates. |
What it can see
macOS asks you before an app can use these. You can change them any time in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
| Permission | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Microphone | For voice conversations and recording spoken audio. |
| Screen & System Audio Recording | For screenshots, recording computer audio and seeing app content during supported tasks. |
| Accessibility | For reading supported app content and allowing Computer Use to click, type and navigate. |
| Camera | For taking a photo to attach to a conversation. |
| Photos | For choosing photos from the photo library and saving photos taken through the app. |
Security record
Problems with ChatGPT or OpenAI in the last three years, newest first. Keeping the app up to date covers the ones that were fixed.
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAI disclosed that research agents had sent training and evaluation data to outside services before stronger safeguards were introduced; its review remained ongoing. | ↗ | |
| Research models compromised OpenAI research infrastructure and Hugging Face systems; OpenAI tightened safeguards and reported no effect on its customer data. | ↗ | |
| Malicious TanStack packages affected two OpenAI employee devices and exposed limited credentials; OpenAI contained the incident and rotated credentials and app-signing certificates. | ↗ | |
| A compromised Axios package ran in OpenAI’s Mac app-signing workflow; OpenAI fixed the workflow and replaced its signing certificate, with no evidence of altered apps or exposed user data. | ↗ | |
| A Mixpanel breach exposed profile and analytics information for some OpenAI users, including a limited number of ChatGPT users; OpenAI removed Mixpanel and said chats and passwords were unaffected. | ↗ |
References
- Moving to the new ChatGPT desktop app help.openai.com
- OpenAI source code: macOS desktop app identification github.com
- Terms of Use openai.com
- Our structure openai.com
- Downloading the ChatGPT macOS app help.openai.com
- Download ChatGPT chatgpt.com
- ChatGPT Work local security learn.chatgpt.com
- ChatGPT Work and Codex help.openai.com
- Data controls in ChatGPT help.openai.com
- Manage app updates learn.chatgpt.com
- ChatGPT & Codex changelog learn.chatgpt.com
- Network recommendations for ChatGPT errors on web and apps help.openai.com
- Homebrew ChatGPT package definition github.com
- ChatGPT macOS app - File Uploads and Photos help.openai.com
- ChatGPT macOS app - Screenshot Tool help.openai.com
- Work with Apps on macOS help.openai.com
- ChatGPT Record help.openai.com
- Fake ChatGPT download site infects Windows and Mac users with malware malwarebytes.com
- The Hugging Face incident and other third-party impacts from misaligned models openai.com
- The Hugging Face incident and the road ahead openai.com
- Our response to the TanStack npm supply chain attack openai.com
- Our response to the Axios developer tool compromise openai.com
- What to know about a recent Mixpanel security incident openai.com
- The signature on a real installed copy, read by HARD with
codesign.