Why do IntelliJ IDEs (e.g. WebStorm & PyCharm) request Screen Recording permissions on macOS?

I would guess it has to do with the "Code with Me" feature, and that not granting this privilege will make that feature not work. Not an issue if you weren't using it, and have no plans to. 

Hi Brett - what are you doing in the IDE when the prompt shows up?

See also:

• https://intellij-support.jetbrains.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001849319-IDE-requests-access-to-calendar-contacts-photos-etc-on-macOS-Mojave

@Arina Efremova — I think it popped up the first time I started the IDE. I didn't pay much attention at the time, but I noticed the request in my Security & Privacy System Preferences later and couldn't find any mention of it in the documentation.

@Tcarlisle2012 — That could be the culprit, but "Code with Me" doesn't look like it does a screencast but instead sends UI mouse & keyboard events over the internet to be rendered by a lightweight client IDE. If that is the case, I can't imagine why it would need Screen Recording permissions.

@...

See this article for the explanation:

• https://intellij-support.jetbrains.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001849319-IDE-requests-access-to-calendar-contacts-photos-etc-on-macOS-Mojave