Privacy & safety · Permissions and access
Why are some folders still refused even though Storage Studio has Full Disk Access?
Short answer: Some folders belong to macOS or another app and are off-limits to every app, even with Full Disk Access. Storage Studio reports them as refused and leaves them alone, only sending you to System Settings when that would actually help.
A few folders belong to another app or to macOS and are off-limits to everything, permanently — Full Disk Access doesn't change that. Storage Studio reports those as refused without sending you to System Settings, because changing a setting wouldn't change the outcome.
When a refusal can be fixed by Full Disk Access, the notice says so and takes you to the right screen. A run that hits hundreds of blocked folders raises one notice, not hundreds.
Nothing is lost either way: a folder Storage Studio can't read is simply left out of measuring or moving.