Apple has set this deadline for its developers

Earlier this year Apple announced that all Mac software distributed outside the Mac App Store must be notarised by Apple in order to run by default on macOS Catalina. Now, the company has set a deadline for developers to upload their software to notary service till February 3, 2020.

For those unaware, notarisation acts as a gatekeeper on macOS that helps protect users from downloading and installing malicious software by checking for a Developer ID certificate. This is for the apps distributed outside the Mac App Store. “In September, we temporarily adjusted the notarization prerequisites to make this transition easier and to protect users on macOS Catalina who continue to use older versions of software. Starting February 3, 2020, all submitted software must meet the original notarization prerequisites”, said the company.