macOS Catalina 10.15 introduced more privacy restrictions. Without your permission, applications cannot access every folder. Parallels Desktop needs additional access to be able to work as before.

Parallels Desktop for Mac uses these permissions to:

1. Ensure you can continue using your existing Parallels virtual machines and their files located in these folders. If you keep your virtual machines on an external drive, Parallels Desktop might ask for access to them too.
2. Search for a third-party virtual machine to import.
3. Search for installation images (e.g. .ISO files) to simplify the installation.
4. Allow Windows applications to open and save files from these folders.

What if I do not provide permissions?

If there are no permissions for Parallels Desktop, you may experience the following issues:

1. Windows or other virtual machine is shown as "?".
2. Windows or other virtual machine is unable to connect to CD image.
3. Windows Recycle Bin is corrupted.
4. Dragging and Dropping a file from Mac to Windows doesn't work.
5. Opening a file on Mac with Windows application is not possible.
   
   More issues can be found in our knowledge base.

How do I provide Parallels Desktop with necessary permissions?

You can review the list of permissions and enable them on the Mac menu bar > Apple logo > System Preferences > Security & Privacy > unlock    > on the left side, scroll down to Files and Folders menu.