diff --git a/launchers/darwin/CMakeLists.txt b/launchers/darwin/CMakeLists.txt
index 4da675fcc9..a3fc0dc7c1 100644
--- a/launchers/darwin/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/launchers/darwin/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.0)
+set(ENV{MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET} 10.9)
 project(HQLauncher)
 set (CMAKE_MODULE_PATH "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake/modules/")
 set(src_files
@@ -26,6 +27,8 @@ set(src_files
   src/LatestBuildRequest.m
   src/OrganizationRequest.m
   src/OrganizationRequest.h
+  src/Interface.h
+  src/Interface.m
   src/ErrorViewController.h
   src/ErrorViewController.m
   src/Settings.h
@@ -67,7 +70,7 @@ add_executable(${PROJECT_NAME} MACOSX_BUNDLE ${src_files})
 set_target_properties(${PROJECT_NAME} PROPERTIES OUTPUT_NAME ${APP_NAME}
   MACOSX_BUNDLE_BUNDLE_NAME ${APP_NAME})
 set_from_env(LAUNCHER_HMAC_SECRET LAUNCHER_HMAC_SECRET "")
-if (LAUNCHER_HMAC_SECRET STREQUAL "")
+if ("${LAUNCHER_HMAC_SECRET}" STREQUAL "")
     message(FATAL_ERROR "LAUNCHER_HMAC_SECRET is not set")
 endif()
 
diff --git a/launchers/darwin/src/Interface.h b/launchers/darwin/src/Interface.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c142aeecf5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launchers/darwin/src/Interface.h
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>
+
+@interface Interface : NSObject
+
+-(id _Nonnull) initWith:(NSString * _Nonnull) aPathToInterface;
+-(NSInteger) getVersion:(out NSError * _Nullable * _Nonnull) anError;
+
+@end
diff --git a/launchers/darwin/src/Interface.m b/launchers/darwin/src/Interface.m
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d02b66b581
--- /dev/null
+++ b/launchers/darwin/src/Interface.m
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+#import "Interface.h"
+
+@implementation Interface
+{
+    NSString *pathTo;
+}
+
+-(id) initWith:(NSString*)aPathToInterface
+{
+    [self init];
+    self->pathTo = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@/Contents/MacOS/interface", aPathToInterface];
+    return self;
+}
+
+-(NSInteger) getVersion:(out NSError * _Nullable *) outError
+{
+    NSTask * interface = [[NSTask alloc] init];
+    NSPipe * standardOut = [NSPipe pipe];
+
+    interface.launchPath = self->pathTo;
+    interface.arguments = @[ @"--version" ];
+    interface.standardOutput = standardOut;
+
+    NSLog(@"calling interface at %@", self->pathTo);
+
+    NSError *error = nil;
+    [interface launch];
+    [interface waitUntilExit];
+    if (0 != [interface terminationStatus]) {
+        *outError = [NSError errorWithDomain:@"interface"
+                                        code:-1
+                                    userInfo:@{NSUnderlyingErrorKey: error}];
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    NSFileHandle * fh = [standardOut fileHandleForReading];
+    NSData * data = [fh readDataToEndOfFile];
+    NSString * output = [NSString stringWithUTF8String:[data bytes]];
+    if (output == nil) {
+        NSDictionary * userInfo = @{
+            NSLocalizedDescriptionKey: NSLocalizedString(@"Couldn't start interface", nil)
+            };
+        *outError = [NSError errorWithDomain:@"interface"
+                                        code:-1
+                                    userInfo:userInfo];
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    // Interface returns the build version as a string like this:
+    // "Interface 33333-DEADBEEF". This code grabs the substring
+    // between "Interface " and the hyphon ("-")
+    NSRange start = [output rangeOfString:@"Interface "];
+    if (start.length == 0) {
+        NSDictionary * userInfo = @{
+            NSLocalizedDescriptionKey: NSLocalizedString(@"Couldn't read interface's version", nil)
+            };
+        *outError = [NSError errorWithDomain:@"interface"
+                                        code:-2
+                                    userInfo:userInfo];
+        return 0;
+    }
+    NSRange end = [output rangeOfString:@"-"];
+    if (end.length == 0) {
+        NSDictionary * userInfo = @{
+            NSLocalizedDescriptionKey: NSLocalizedString(@"Couldn't read interface's version", nil)
+            };
+        *outError = [NSError errorWithDomain:@"interface"
+                                        code:-2
+                                    userInfo:userInfo];
+        return 0;
+    }
+    NSRange subRange = {start.length, end.location - start.length};
+    NSString * versionStr;
+    @try {
+        versionStr = [output substringWithRange:subRange];
+    }
+    @catch (NSException *) {
+        NSDictionary * userInfo = @{
+            NSLocalizedDescriptionKey: NSLocalizedString(@"Couldn't read interface's version", nil)
+            };
+        *outError = [NSError errorWithDomain:@"interface"
+                                        code:-2
+                                    userInfo:userInfo];
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    return versionStr.integerValue;
+}
+
+@end
diff --git a/launchers/darwin/src/LatestBuildRequest.m b/launchers/darwin/src/LatestBuildRequest.m
index 5119efa8f6..7e836548af 100644
--- a/launchers/darwin/src/LatestBuildRequest.m
+++ b/launchers/darwin/src/LatestBuildRequest.m
@@ -1,17 +1,30 @@
 #import "LatestBuildRequest.h"
 #import "Launcher.h"
 #import "Settings.h"
+#import "Interface.h"
 
 @implementation LatestBuildRequest
 
+- (NSInteger) getCurrentVersion {
+    NSString* interfaceAppPath = [[Launcher.sharedLauncher getAppPath] stringByAppendingString:@"interface.app"];
+    NSError * error = nil;
+    Interface * interface = [[Interface alloc] initWith:interfaceAppPath];
+    NSInteger currentVersion = [interface getVersion:&error];
+    if (currentVersion == 0 && error != nil) {
+        NSLog(@"can't get version from interface, falling back to settings: %@", error);
+        currentVersion = [Settings.sharedSettings latestBuildVersion];
+    }
+    return currentVersion;
+}
+
 - (void) requestLatestBuildInfo {
     NSMutableURLRequest *request = [NSMutableURLRequest new];
     [request setURL:[NSURL URLWithString:@"https://thunder.highfidelity.com/builds/api/tags/latest?format=json"]];
     [request setHTTPMethod:@"GET"];
     [request setValue:@"application/json" forHTTPHeaderField:@"Content-Type"];
     
-    
-    NSURLSession* session = [NSURLSession sharedSession];
+    // We're using an ephermeral session here to ensure the tags api response is never cached.
+    NSURLSession * session = [NSURLSession sessionWithConfiguration:NSURLSessionConfiguration.ephemeralSessionConfiguration];
     NSURLSessionDataTask* dataTask = [session dataTaskWithRequest:request completionHandler:^(NSData *data, NSURLResponse *response, NSError *error) {
         
         
@@ -45,8 +58,7 @@
         BOOL appDirectoryExist = [fileManager fileExistsAtPath:[[sharedLauncher getAppPath] stringByAppendingString:@"interface.app"]];
         
         dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
-            Settings* settings = [Settings sharedSettings];
-            NSInteger currentVersion = [settings latestBuildVersion];
+            NSInteger currentVersion = [self getCurrentVersion];
             NSLog(@"Latest Build Request -> does build directory exist: %@", appDirectoryExist ? @"TRUE" : @"FALSE");
             NSLog(@"Latest Build Request -> current version: %ld", currentVersion);
             NSLog(@"Latest Build Request -> latest version: %ld", buildNumber.integerValue);
@@ -105,11 +117,10 @@
     NSDictionary* macInstallerObject = [installers objectForKey:@"mac"];
     NSString* macInstallerUrl = [macInstallerObject valueForKey:@"zip_url"];
     
-    BOOL appDirectoryExist = [fileManager fileExistsAtPath:[[sharedLauncher getAppPath] stringByAppendingString:@"interface.app"]];
-    
-    Settings* settings = [Settings sharedSettings];
-    NSInteger currentVersion = [settings latestBuildVersion];
-    BOOL latestVersionAvailable = (currentVersion != buildNumber.integerValue);
+    NSString* interfaceAppPath = [[sharedLauncher getAppPath] stringByAppendingString:@"interface.app"];
+    BOOL appDirectoryExist = [fileManager fileExistsAtPath:interfaceAppPath];
+
+    BOOL latestVersionAvailable = ([self getCurrentVersion] != buildNumber.integerValue);
     [[Settings sharedSettings] buildVersion:buildNumber.integerValue];
     
     BOOL shouldDownloadInterface = (latestVersionAvailable || !appDirectoryExist);