Does PeakHour need Local Network access?

The first time you run PeakHour, macOS asks:

Allow “PeakHour” to find devices on local networks?

Allow it. PeakHour needs this to watch the part of your connection that lives inside your home.

What PeakHour uses it for

• Finding your router. PeakHour discovers routers and gateways over UPnP, which is how the Router segment of the Internet Dashboard fills in without you typing an address.
• Measuring the hop to your router. The latency between your Mac and your router is what separates “my Wi-Fi is struggling” from “my ISP is struggling”.
• Reading bandwidth from your router. Router traffic counters come over UPnP or SNMP, both of which are conversations with a device on your own network.

What still works if you decline

• Latency and connection quality out to the internet, and the grade the AI Network Advisor gives it.
• Speed tests.
• Bandwidth for This Mac, which comes from your Mac’s own interface counters.
• The menu bar graphs and all of your history.

What stops working

• Router discovery during First Time Setup and afterwards.
• Any monitor that talks to your router or another device on your network.
• The router section of the dashboard, which is the piece that tells you which side of your front door a problem is on.

Your data stays on your Mac

PeakHour uses local network access only to reach devices on your own network. It has no account, no telemetry, and no analytics SDKs, and nothing about your network is uploaded.

Changing your mind later

Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network, turn PeakHour on or off, then quit and relaunch PeakHour.

If you declined the prompt and the router section stays empty, see PeakHour can’t discover your router.