macOS: Browser Use reports saved-permission block despite Site permissions allowing Browse for the exact origin

Summary

On macOS, the desktop app's Site permissions UI shows browsing allowed for https://ads.google.com, but an existing Chrome tab on that origin is repeatedly rejected by Browser Use as blocked by a saved user permission.

The user explicitly requested troubleshooting and submission of this report. This report was prepared by the assistant from observed tool responses and user-supplied settings screenshots. No advertiser identity, customer IDs, campaign metrics, credentials, screenshots, full logs, or session transcript are included.

Environment

• Desktop app version: 26.901.51231 (read from installed application metadata).
• macOS: 26.2, build 25C56.
• Browser surface: Google Chrome extension-connected profile.
• Browser tool: mcp__cua_repl.
• Observed: September 8, 2026.
• Subscription: not collected.

Observed sequence

1. A normal browser inventory succeeded and listed the existing Chrome Google Ads tab.
2. Selecting that tab with the documented API failed:
   await cua.getTab(existingTabId, { browser: existingBrowserId });
3. The user supplied a settings screenshot showing ads.google.com set to Always allow.
4. A subsequent retry returned the same saved-permission rejection.
5. The user then supplied the desktop Site permissions screen showing the exact origin https://ads.google.com with Custom, and green Browse and Download indicators.
6. A retry after that screenshot still returned the same rejection. No page state was accessible.

The original user-visible settings and the later origin-specific settings both show allow. We cannot establish which permission source the enforcement service actually evaluated.

Actual error

Browser Use rejected this action due to browser security policy.
Reason: A saved user permission setting blocks this action.
Browser use cannot access https://ads.google.com because the user has a saved preference that blocks it.

The tool also explicitly prohibits workarounds or policy circumvention. The agent respected that restriction; no alternate browser surface, raw browser protocol, direct service request, or local permission-file edit was used to obtain the blocked data.

Expected

An explicit origin-level Browse allowance should be reflected in the effective browser permission decision, unless a separate overriding restriction applies. If an overriding restriction applies, the UI/error should identify it accurately rather than attribute the rejection to a user preference that the displayed settings contradict.

Please provide a supported recovery procedure and investigate permission-source precedence or stale permission state. Neither cause is confirmed by this report.

Troubleshooting and impact

• Retried the supported tab selection after the user confirmed and changed settings.
• Read-only local diagnostics work. No local diagnostic proved the underlying cause.
• App startup logs show a new process during the sequence, but we cannot establish that this constitutes a complete documented permission-reset procedure. Restart is not a verified fix.
• Attempting to open the app's own feedback/settings UI with Computer Use returned Computer Use is not allowed to use the app 'com.openai.codex' for safety reasons. This is noted as a reporting limitation, not a request to bypass that protection.
• No in-app feedback ID was generated.
• The block prevents completion of an authorized read-only monthly conversion report.

Related but not established as the same cause: #29343 (site-policy rejections). This report specifically concerns a saved-user-permission denial despite visible origin-level allow.

Start with the documented cua.getTab(existingTabId, { browser: existingBrowserId }) entry point and trace how the effective permission decision is compared with the displayed Site permissions state. Review the available read-only diagnostics and app startup logs, then determine whether the saved-permission rejection reflects precedence or stale state. Done means the supported recovery behavior and the permission source reported by the UI and error are consistent.