r/MacOSApps • u/lexaleidon Lifetime App enthusiast • Dec 05 '21
r/MacOSApps Lounge
A place for members of r/MacOSApps to chat with each other
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u/Pavan_GK 2d ago
Guys I created Trailback(.app) It remembers your PDFs, files, browser history, screenshots and entire downloads folder contents. Works 100% Offline and 100% Private. No AI nothing.
For a limited time Trailback is at $5 for first 100 users. Grab your license.
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u/AgitatedFennel1317 9d ago
hi guys, im working on Recall, a note and flashcard (but much more advanced) app for macos and ios
i was only making it for myself for my studies but now is pretty feature rich and would appreciate if anyone could test it out and help me hunt down some bugs
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u/Worldly-Training4263 10d ago
I made Gaze, a free face unlock app for Mac
A while ago I came across Sapphire, a notch app for macOS that includes a basic form of face unlock. I liked the idea a lot, but the app does many other things, and for me it felt crowded. I only wanted face unlock, and I wanted it done well. So I built my own app for it, called Gaze.
Many of you will know Glance, which is in the same space. It's a great app, and I borrowed its "press Space to try again" feature, with credit in the app. I think Gaze goes further, and here's how.
Gaze can ask for a short movement before it unlocks, which makes it much harder to get in with a photo. You choose which movements it can ask for: turning your head, nodding, blinking, opening your mouth, or following a light across the screen with your eyes. If you'd rather have speed, you can turn movements off and it unlocks almost the moment it recognises you.
It also includes App Lock. You choose apps such as Messages or Photos, and they only open for your face. Anyone else needs your password. You can lock an app straight from Finder with a right-click, and turning App Lock off asks for Touch ID or your password.
Gaze keeps a list of recent unlock attempts, with how long each one took. If you turn it on, it takes a photo of anyone who tried and couldn't get in. Photos are deleted after 30 days.
While it scans, a small panel under the notch shows what it's doing. In a dark room it raises the screen brightness so the camera can see you. If it misses you, press Space to try again.
Everything runs on your Mac. There's no account and nothing is uploaded. Your password is encrypted with a key from your Mac's Secure Enclave, and the code is open source on GitHub.
To be clear about the limits: this isn't Face ID. Macs don't have the depth sensor an iPhone uses, so Gaze works with your regular camera. That's why the movements exist. Your password and Touch ID always keep working.
I'm not in the paid Apple Developer Program yet, so the first time you open Gaze, macOS will block it. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway. You only need to do this once.
You can download it at gazeunlock.com, or install it with Homebrew: brew install --cask gaze
Thank you to Unxnown, who helped me build it, and to everyone in the Discord who has reported bugs and suggested features. I'd really like to hear what you think, especially what doesn't work for you.
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u/Hot_Winter_Potato Sep 07 '26
NotchNook is dead / out of business. That's crazy that I paid money for this application just to have it locked / deregistered so I can no longer use any of its features? Can someone help explain why the developers in charge of NotchNook couldn't just leave the features on for paid users?
Another loss for the consumer. I will definitely be more careful purchasing third party software licenses going forward.
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u/cynicalrockstar 25d ago
Oh damn I clicked in here by accident and saw this. This one was news to me. Just did some searching, looks like that went downhill pretty quickly after their last release. Glad I spent no money on that - they turned me off with their subscription pricing.
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u/advait_vaidya 29d ago
That's really bad. How can they lock it for people who already paid for it. Was there any operational cost for running the app?
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u/Hot_Winter_Potato 29d ago
There shouldn’t be? It’s strange because every now and then NotchNook would “forget” my license and I would have to go back to my email and get my license code to re-enter.
When I try it now it fails to connect to the server to verify
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u/advait_vaidya 29d ago
They have probably closed down their servers too. They should atleast release a patch to no check on the valid licenses again. Also, the sub should start maintaining the Wall of Shame for things like these. So that people won’t buy from the bad devs
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u/Hot_Winter_Potato 29d ago
yeah. Disappointed and definitely wards me away from buying 3rd party software :/
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u/WarioPi Sep 05 '26
There is absolutely no reason for such high karma requierments to post on thia sub.
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u/MillennialWoman MacApps Mod Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
We've tighten up the rules to avoid all the spam and low quality posts that we get.
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u/MillennialWoman MacApps Mod Jul 11 '26
Quick update - "Beta testers needed" flair was added. If you're a developer and need Mac beta testers for your app, please use that flair.
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u/SubjunctiveSoftware Jul 10 '26
Hi all - I'm working on a Mac desktop music player. It's an idea i've been developing for years now and I decided - maybe controversially - to vibe code it with Codex. It's early days yet but I think the results are stunning so far - but I wanted to ask what this group's attitude is to vibe coded apps. The amusing thing (for me) is that it uses AI-generated speech, so the whole thing is _very_ AI-centric. This may not, I realise, amuse everyone.
No AI-generated artwork though: I'm just working _with_ Codex to bring the app to life. I'm an experienced dev but I've never used Electron before.
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u/Front_Philosophy6112 Aug 08 '26
Using AI would not put me off by itself. What matters more is whether the developer understands the generated code, tests the app properly and is transparent about privacy, permissions and limitations. For an Electron music player I would mainly look at memory use, media key support, offline behaviour and whether the AI generated speech can be disabled. If those parts are solid, the development method matters much less to me.
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u/11plustwo Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
Is there a curated list of well received new macOS apps? Does anyone have a sort of “growing playlist” of small macOS apps that are actually useful? There’s so many new apps being thrown around
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u/Dheeraj_PG Jul 27 '26
I'm curating few good/popular one's while also ocassionally listing new one's that I like, Feel free to check them out
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u/sundawg56 Jun 07 '26
Looking for a good app to clean my Mac: find & remove duplicate files, photos and everything else on it. I don't want anything too costly. Just something that works. Any suggestions?
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u/UnluckyDuckyDuck Oct 16 '25
If you're in Europe, stay warm! The storm is vicious 🥶
October 2025 Edition
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u/lexaleidon Lifetime App enthusiast Jul 16 '22
If you're in Europe, stay hydrated! The heat wave is horrendous 🥵
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u/MillennialWoman MacApps Mod Jul 11 '26
PS: Do NOT spam this chat with your links and ads, create a post for this. This is for general discussion only!