Choose what’s personal.
Add a verification step to selected apps. Switch away, and Glance relocks them.
A little privacy.
Just a glance away.
Your Mac feels personal. Keep it that way.
Add face-and-blink verification to the apps you choose.
macOS Tahoe 26+ · Apple silicon· Free, with no account
A little peace of mind.
Your apps. Your eyes only.
One glance, and you’re right back in.
G
On your Mac. Only on your Mac.
A familiar face. A simple blink.Messages is waiting for you.
A quiet presence. A personal touch. Interactive illustration · no camera access
Face + blink verification Local by design Native macOS app Open source
THOUGHTFULLY OUT OF THE WAY
A small app.
A more personal Mac.
For the messages, notes, and little things
you’d rather keep to yourself.
Look. Blink. You’re in.
A familiar face and a natural blink. Or use the macOS Touch ID or Password dialog.
Quietly in your corner.
At home in your menu bar. No Dock clutter. Your Mac password is required to pause protection or quit. Resume whenever you like.
PERSONAL MEANS PERSONAL
Your face stays
right where it belongs.
On your Mac. Face verification runs locally, and camera frames are discarded after processing.
- No photos or video saved
- Face representations stored in Keychain
- No accounts, analytics, or network requests in the app
A FEW STEPS. A LITTLE MORE PRIVACY.
Make yourself at home.
01
Meet your new menu-bar app.
Download the DMG, open it, and drag Glance Unlock into Applications.
02
Put a face to your Mac.
Allow camera access and capture five face samples in even lighting.
03
Pick your personal space.
Choose your apps, enable protection, and let Glance quietly do its thing.
A note for your first launch. This preview isn’t notarized by Apple. If macOS blocks it and you trust the source, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway.
Is this Apple Face ID for my Mac?
Glance is an independent privacy-layer prototype that uses your camera for face matching and a blink check. It does not use Apple’s TrueDepth hardware or replace Face ID, your Mac’s lock screen, or FileVault. Keep using the macOS lock screen for device security.
Does my face data ever leave my Mac?
Face matching runs locally with Apple frameworks. Camera frames are processed in memory and discarded, never saved as photos or video. Only derived face representations are stored in your Mac’s Keychain. The app has no network client or analytics, and you can delete your profile in the app.
Which Macs can run Glance?
This download is an arm64 preview for Apple silicon Macs running macOS Tahoe 26.0 or later. You’ll need a built-in or compatible camera and permission to use it. Intel Macs are not validated or supported by this build.
What if face verification doesn’t work?
You can always choose “Use Touch ID or Password” in the app’s verification screen. This opens a standard macOS authentication dialog. Glance never reads, stores, or types your Mac password.
Why does macOS show a warning when I open it?
This free preview is ad-hoc signed and is not notarized by Apple. If you trust the download, open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway after the first blocked launch, then confirm. Managed Macs may not allow this exception.
Can someone pause or quit Glance without my password?
Pausing protection, removing a protected app, and quitting Glance—including Command-Q—require your Mac account password in a macOS prompt. Cancelling or failing authentication keeps protection unchanged. Glance never reads or stores your password. Resuming protection needs no authentication. Force Quit or killing the process can still bypass protection.
What happens when I quit Glance?
Closing the main window keeps Glance running in your menu bar. Quitting through the app’s controls stops protection after password authentication. Glance hides selected apps cooperatively; it is a privacy convenience, not a tamper-resistant security boundary. Force Quit, process termination, and camera replay attacks can still bypass protection.
Let a glance
be your way in.
A small, thoughtful layer of privacy for your everyday apps.
Download for MacGlance is a privacy-layer prototype, not a replacement for the macOS lock screen, Face ID, or FileVault. Protection works while Glance is running and can still be bypassed by force-quitting or killing its process.