diff --git a/modules/juce_gui_extra/misc/juce_WebBrowserComponent.h b/modules/juce_gui_extra/misc/juce_WebBrowserComponent.h
index 7f5b836ff1..2d9b18b437 100644
--- a/modules/juce_gui_extra/misc/juce_WebBrowserComponent.h
+++ b/modules/juce_gui_extra/misc/juce_WebBrowserComponent.h
@@ -212,6 +212,29 @@ public:
             Colour backgroundColour;
         };
 
+        /** Options specific to the WkWebView backend used on Apple systems. These options will be
+            ignored on non-Apple platforms.
+        */
+        class AppleWkWebView
+        {
+        public:
+            /** Specifies whether the WebView is allowed to access siblings of files specified with
+                the file:// URL scheme.
+
+                Allowing this is a potential security vulnerability if you don't have full control
+                over the file that you are opening.
+            */
+            [[nodiscard]] AppleWkWebView withAllowAccessToEnclosingDirectory (bool x) const
+            {
+                return withMember (*this, &AppleWkWebView::allowAccessToEnclosingDirectory, x);
+            }
+
+            auto getAllowAccessToEnclosingDirectory() const { return allowAccessToEnclosingDirectory; }
+
+        private:
+            bool allowAccessToEnclosingDirectory = false;
+        };
+
         /** Specifies options that apply to the Windows implementation when the WebView2 feature is
             enabled.
 
@@ -222,6 +245,13 @@ public:
             return withMember (*this, &Options::winWebView2, winWebView2Options);
         }
 
+        /** Specifies options that influence the WebBrowserComponent's behaviour on Apple systems.
+        */
+        [[nodiscard]] Options withAppleWkWebViewOptions (const AppleWkWebView& appleWkWebViewOptions) const
+        {
+            return withMember (*this, &Options::appleWkWebView, appleWkWebViewOptions);
+        }
+
         /** Enables native integration features for the code running inside the WebBrowserComponent.
 
             This injects data and function objects under `window.__JUCE__.backend` through which
@@ -342,6 +372,7 @@ public:
         auto        keepsPageLoadedWhenBrowserIsHidden() const noexcept  { return keepPageLoadedWhenBrowserIsHidden; }
         auto        getUserAgent() const                                 { return userAgent; }
         auto        getWinWebView2BackendOptions() const                 { return winWebView2; }
+        auto        getAppleWkWebViewOptions() const                     { return appleWkWebView; }
         auto        getNativeIntegrationsEnabled() const                 { return enableNativeIntegration; }
         const auto& getNativeFunctions() const                           { return nativeFunctions; }
         const auto& getEventListeners() const                            { return eventListeners; }
@@ -357,6 +388,7 @@ public:
         bool enableNativeIntegration = false;
         String userAgent;
         WinWebView2 winWebView2;
+        AppleWkWebView appleWkWebView;
         std::map<Identifier, NativeFunction> nativeFunctions;
         std::vector<std::pair<Identifier, NativeEventListener>> eventListeners;
         StringArray userScripts;
diff --git a/modules/juce_gui_extra/native/juce_WebBrowserComponent_mac.mm b/modules/juce_gui_extra/native/juce_WebBrowserComponent_mac.mm
index 7c4cad144b..c91417a683 100644
--- a/modules/juce_gui_extra/native/juce_WebBrowserComponent_mac.mm
+++ b/modules/juce_gui_extra/native/juce_WebBrowserComponent_mac.mm
@@ -818,7 +818,9 @@ public:
           delegateConnector (implIn.owner,
                              [this] (const auto& m) { owner.handleNativeEvent (m); },
                              [this] (const auto& r) { return owner.handleResourceRequest (r); },
-                             browserOptions)
+                             browserOptions),
+          allowAccessToEnclosingDirectory (browserOptions.getAppleWkWebViewOptions()
+                                                         .getAllowAccessToEnclosingDirectory())
     {
         ObjCObjectHandle<WKWebViewConfiguration*> config { [WKWebViewConfiguration new] };
         id preferences = [config.get() preferences];
@@ -987,8 +989,23 @@ public:
         {
             auto file = URL (url).getLocalFile();
 
-            if (NSURL* nsUrl = [NSURL fileURLWithPath: juceStringToNS (file.getFullPathName())])
-                [webView.get() loadFileURL: appendParametersToFileURL (url, nsUrl) allowingReadAccessToURL: nsUrl];
+            NSURL* nsUrl = [NSURL fileURLWithPath: juceStringToNS (file.getFullPathName())];
+
+            auto* accessPath = [&]
+            {
+                if (! allowAccessToEnclosingDirectory)
+                    return nsUrl;
+
+                auto* parentUrl = [NSURL fileURLWithPath: juceStringToNS (file.getParentDirectory().getFullPathName())];
+
+                if (parentUrl == nullptr)
+                    return nsUrl;
+
+                return parentUrl;
+            }();
+
+            if (nsUrl != nullptr)
+                [webView.get() loadFileURL: appendParametersToFileURL (url, nsUrl) allowingReadAccessToURL: accessPath];
         }
         else if (NSMutableURLRequest* request = getRequestForURL (url, headers, postData))
         {
@@ -1061,6 +1078,7 @@ public:
 private:
     WebBrowserComponent::Impl& owner;
     DelegateConnector delegateConnector;
+    bool allowAccessToEnclosingDirectory = false;
     LastFocusChange lastFocusChange;
     ObjCObjectHandle<WKWebView*> webView;
     ObjCObjectHandle<id> webViewDelegate;