Audacity not appearing as option in MacBook Privacy and Security settings

[JonnoLeMontre]

I’m sure there is an easy and obvious solution to the problem I am experiencing, but after spending most of the day trying to find it, including right here on this forum, I am on the verge of admitting defeat.

In a nutshell, Audacity is not appearing where it should be on the list of apps in my Macbook’s…

System Settings > Privacy and Security > Microphone options.

The mic is set up and selected in System Settings > Sound > Input (I livestream a lot and so I know the mic works)

And over on Audacity the mic is set up and selected in Audio Setup > Recording Device

I have read a lot of suggestions here for people who have had similar experiences to go to System Settings > Privacy and Security > Microphone options and tick the box to enable permission for Audacity to access the mic.

Well, I am in there now, and Audacity is not even appearing as an option.

So today I have uninstalled Audacity completely and then reinstalled it, in case I had missed a pop-up prompt on start-up to allow Audacity to access my mic, but there has been none. Usually any app which requires access to the camera and/or mic has this prompt, and I am wondering if this is where the problem might be?

I am using Mac OS Ventura 13.4.1 and Audacity 3.7.0

It would be nice to get to the bottom of this annoying glitch, so any advice is much appreciated.

[JonnoLeMontre]

Update: Having exhausted everything I could think of, I decided that was enough for one day, so I began the process of closing my machine down for the night, and went to disconnect my mic, when I had a thought: what if I just try to record something instead of wrecking my head trying to find an answer?

So I went back into Audacity and just hit the record button - and lo and behold, up popped the prompt to permit permissions for Audacity to access my mic.

Audacity is now enabled on Privacy and Security.

I knew the answer had to be easy. It had to be. I hope this helps somebody else when they find themselves stuck like I have today.