Vigil Screen

🛡️ Auto-lock your Mac on proximity + panic-hide sensitive apps with one hotkey

A privacy-first macOS security app.

Features

🔒 Proximity Lock

Auto-lock your Mac when you step away from your desk.

Detects when your iPhone or Apple Watch goes out of Bluetooth range
Smart hysteresis logic prevents false triggers
Customizable lock delay (5-30 seconds)
Works with Bluetooth or WiFi signal strength
Auto-triggers Panic Mode before locking — apps stay hidden even if the screen is woken without authentication

🚨 Panic Mode

Blur everything instantly with one keystroke — only your trusted apps stay visible.

Single hotkey (default: ⌘+Shift+L) blurs all screens immediately and hides non-safelisted apps
Safelist model: apps you trust (Terminal, IDE, browsers, etc.) remain visible and interactive above the blur; everything else vanishes
Multi-display (v0.3.4): every connected monitor is covered correctly, including external displays with different resolutions or heights
No-flash switching (v0.3.4): clicking a safelisted app during Panic Mode shows its window instantly — no full-blur frame before the hole appears
Fullscreen & Chromium support: safelisted apps remain visible whether they are in a normal window, fullscreen Space, or are Chromium-based (Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc)
Audio mute (v0.3.3): system audio is silenced on panic and restored to its prior state on release
Clipboard clear (v0.3.3): anything in the clipboard is wiped on panic — prevents bystanders from pasting copied passwords
Release with Touch ID for added security

📸 Intruder Capture

Automatically photographs anyone who fails a panic-release attempt.

Captures a photo from the front camera on wrong Touch ID or password attempt
Saved locally to ~/Pictures/Vigil Screen Captures/ — never uploaded
Sends a macOS notification so you know even when you're away from the History tab
Visible in the History log with thumbnail — tap to enlarge
Toggle on/off in Settings → Panic Mode

👀 Shoulder Surfing Detection

Automatically triggers Panic Mode when someone looks over your shoulder.

Continuous face detection via Vision + AVFoundation — no camera upload, fully local
Configurable sensitivity and minimum detection duration before triggering
Auto-release: Panic Mode lifts automatically (no Touch ID required) once the threat clears for a set delay (3–30 s)
Lock History records shoulder surfing events with a purple badge
Toggle on/off in Settings → Shoulder Surfing

📋 Lock History

A full audit log of every lock event.

Records Proximity Lock triggers, Panic Mode activations, and failed unlock attempts
View in Settings → History
Clear at any time

📊 Menubar Live Stats

At-a-glance Bluetooth and countdown info next to the menu bar icon.

Shows live RSSI and lock countdown without opening the popover
Toggle in Settings → General

🎉 First-Run Onboarding

Get set up in seconds with a guided welcome checklist.

Live status for Accessibility, Bluetooth pairing, and app blocklist
Opens directly from the menu bar popover
Dismisses automatically once you're ready

✨ Liquid Glass (macOS 26)

Native macOS 26 visual design when available.

Panic button uses .glassEffect with live tint (green/red)
Onboarding footer uses .buttonStyle(.glassProminent)
Graceful fallback to standard SwiftUI on macOS 15–25

🔐 Security First

Local-first: All processing happens on your Mac. No network calls, no telemetry
iCloud Sync (v0.2.0): Settings, App Safelist, and Lock History sync across your Macs via NSUbiquitousKeyValueStore — never sent to third parties
Open source: Community audits the code
Zero dependencies: Pure Apple frameworks only
Privacy-focused: We don't collect telemetry or analytics
PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy: Declares all accessed APIs (Bluetooth, Keychain) for notarization compliance

Screenshots & Demo

🎬 Demo GIF coming soon (Screen Recording + Gifski)

Installation

Option 1: Download .dmg (Recommended)

Download the latest release from GitHub Releases
Open Vigil Screen.dmg
Drag Vigil Screen.app to Applications
Launch from Applications folder
Grant permissions (Bluetooth, Accessibility) when prompted

Vigil Screen is notarized by Apple (since v0.3.0) — no Gatekeeper warning on launch.

Option 2: Homebrew

brew install --cask atomsbaza/tap/vigil-screen

To upgrade later:

brew upgrade --cask vigil-screen

Option 3: Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/atomsbaza/VigilScreen.git
cd VigilScreen
open VigilScreen.xcodeproj

Requirements:

Xcode 16+
macOS 15 Sequoia or later
Swift 6.0+

Quick Start

1. Enable Proximity Lock

Open Vigil Screen → Settings
Go to Proximity Lock tab
Toggle Enable
Click Scan for Devices and select your iPhone or Apple Watch
Tune signal threshold if needed (move farther away to adjust)

2. Set Up Panic Mode

Go to Panic Mode tab
Review the App Safelist — apps in this list stay visible above the blur (default: Terminal, Xcode, VS Code, Safari, Chrome, Slack, Notion)
Add trusted apps by clicking + and selecting from running apps, or remove ones you don't need
Customize keyboard shortcut (default: ⌘+Shift+L)
Toggle Require authentication to release for extra security

Apple Watch double-press also unlocks Panic Mode if you have "Use your Apple Watch to unlock apps and your Mac" enabled in System Settings → Touch ID & Password. Touch ID and password fallback work as well.

3. Grant Accessibility Permission

Vigil Screen will prompt for Accessibility access on every launch until it's granted — this is required for the global ⌘+Shift+L shortcut to work.

Click Open Settings in the prompt
Find Vigil Screen in the Accessibility list and turn it on
Quit and reopen Vigil Screen — the shortcut will not work until you restart the app after granting permission

Note: macOS requires a restart of the app any time Accessibility permission is newly granted or toggled.

4. Test It Out

Proximity Lock: Walk away from your desk with Bluetooth enabled → Mac locks
Panic Mode: Press ⌘+Shift+L → selected apps disappear instantly

Architecture

VigilScreen/
├── App/
│   ├── DockLockApp.swift          # @main entry point
│   └── AppDelegate.swift          # NSApplicationDelegate + NSWindowDelegate
│
├── MenuBar/
│   ├── MenuBarManager.swift       # NSStatusItem + dynamic-height popover
│   ├── MenuBarView.swift          # SwiftUI popover UI (welcome gate)
│   └── WelcomeView.swift          # First-run onboarding checklist
│
├── Features/
│   ├── PanicMode/
│   │   ├── PanicModeManager.swift # Blur/unhide logic (@MainActor)
│   │   ├── AppBlocklist.swift     # Safelist — apps that stay visible during panic
│   │   └── PanicModeView.swift    # Settings UI
│   │
│   ├── ProximityLock/
│   │   ├── BluetoothMonitor.swift # CoreBluetooth RSSI scanning + DiscoveredDevice model
│   │   ├── LockTrigger.swift      # Hysteresis + lock action
│   │   └── ProximityView.swift    # Settings UI
│   │
│   ├── ShoulderSurfing/
│   │   ├── ShoulderSurfingDetector.swift # Vision + AVFoundation face detection
│   │   └── ShoulderSurfingView.swift     # Settings UI
│   │
│   └── History/
│       └── LockHistoryView.swift  # Lock event audit log UI
│
├── Core/
│   ├── LockEngine.swift           # Sends lock screen command
│   ├── SettingsStore.swift        # UserDefaults wrapper
│   ├── PermissionManager.swift    # Requests OS permissions (@MainActor)
│   ├── IntruderCaptureManager.swift # Front-camera capture on failed auth
│   ├── LockHistoryStore.swift     # Persisted audit log of lock events
│   └── CloudSyncStore.swift       # iCloud KV sync coordinator (NSUbiquitousKeyValueStore)
│
├── Settings/
│   └── SettingsView.swift         # Main settings window
│
└── Resources/
    ├── VigilScreen.entitlements      # App entitlements
    └── PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy      # Apple privacy manifest (notarization)

Liquid Glass

Vigil Screen uses the macOS 26 Liquid Glass design language when available, with a clean fallback for macOS 15–25:

Element	macOS 26	macOS 15–25
Panic button	`.glassEffect(.regular.tint(...).interactive())` with `exclamationmark.shield.fill` icon + `⌘⇧L` shortcut hint	Filled `.background` (red/green) + rounded clip + `⌘⇧L` hint
Onboarding CTA	`.buttonStyle(.glassProminent)`	`.buttonStyle(.borderedProminent)`

All glass effects are gated with #available(macOS 26, *) — the app compiles and runs identically on both targets.

Tech Stack

Component	Choice	Why
Language	Swift 6.0+	Strict concurrency enforced across the codebase
UI	SwiftUI 6 + AppKit	Native macOS feel, menu bar integration
Frameworks	CoreBluetooth, LocalAuthentication, AVFoundation, Vision, CoreGraphics, Security	Pure Apple APIs, zero external dependencies
Liquid Glass	macOS 26+ `.glassEffect`	Adaptive — falls back gracefully on macOS 15–25
Min Target	macOS 15 Sequoia	Broad compatibility, Ships on all modern Macs
Build System	Xcode 16+	Native Swift 6 strict concurrency support

Permissions

Vigil Screen requests only the permissions it needs:

Permission	Why	Prompt
Bluetooth	To scan for nearby iPhone/Watch	When enabling Proximity Lock
Accessibility	To register global keyboard shortcut	When customizing Panic Mode hotkey
Touch ID	To authenticate panic release	When enabling Panic Mode
Camera	Intruder Capture (failed-unlock photo) and Shoulder Surfing Detection (face detection, fully on-device)	On first failed auth attempt, or when enabling Shoulder Surfing Detection

What we DON'T ask for: Microphone, Location, Network

FAQ

Q: Does Vigil Screen work with multiple Macs? A: Yes — iCloud Sync (added in v0.2.0) automatically syncs Settings, App Safelist, and Lock History across all your Macs.

Q: What if my iPhone is out of battery? A: Proximity Lock won't trigger. Panic Mode still works independently.

Q: Which apps stay visible during Panic Mode? A: Only apps in your Safelist remain visible above the blur (default: Terminal, Xcode, VS Code, Safari, Chrome, Slack, Notion). Everything else is hidden. Add or remove apps in Panic Mode settings.

Q: Is my data safe? A: Completely safe. All processing is local. No cloud, no analytics, no telemetry. It's open source — audit the code yourself.

Q: Does it work on Apple Silicon? A: Yes. Optimized for M1/M2/M3/M4 Macs.

Known Issues

No known issues.

Privacy & Security

Privacy-First Storage

Settings, Safelist, and History sync via iCloud KV store (v0.2.0) — no third-party servers
No accounts, no logins
Bluetooth pairing info in system Keychain (encrypted)
Intruder photos stored locally only (~/Pictures/Vigil Screen Captures/) — never synced

No Telemetry

No usage tracking, crash reporting, or analytics

Open Source

Full source code on GitHub
MIT License — fork and audit freely

Apple Privacy Manifest

PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy declares all accessed APIs (Bluetooth, Keychain)
Required for macOS 15+ notarization
Confirms: NSPrivacyTracking: false, zero collected data types

Responsible Disclosure

Found a security issue? Report privately to atomsbaza2@gmail.com. See SECURITY.md.

Contributing

We welcome contributions! See CONTRIBUTING.md.

Ways to Help

🐛 Report bugs
💡 Suggest features
📝 Improve docs
🔍 Audit security
🌍 Translate

Roadmap

✅ v0.1.0

Panic Mode — instant full-screen blur on all screens, safelist keeps trusted apps visible
Proximity Lock (Bluetooth) — auto-triggers Panic Mode before locking
Intruder Capture — front-camera photo on failed unlock, saved to ~/Pictures/Vigil Screen Captures/
Lock History — full audit log of lock events
Menubar Live Stats — live RSSI + countdown in menu bar
Local settings, first-run onboarding
Liquid Glass UI (macOS 26)
Swift 6 strict concurrency
Apple Privacy Manifest (PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy)

✅ v0.2.0

iCloud Sync — Settings, App Safelist, and Lock History sync across Macs via NSUbiquitousKeyValueStore

✅ v0.2.1

Fix: eliminated overlay flash when switching to a safelisted app during Panic Mode — overlay alpha resets instantly on activation, mask rebuilds after a 70 ms settling window, then fades back in over 180 ms

✅ v0.3.0

Shoulder Surfing Detection — continuous face detection via Vision + AVFoundation; triggers Panic Mode automatically when 2+ faces are detected for a configurable duration
Sensitivity slider and live face count in Settings → Shoulder Surfing tab
Auto-release: camera stays running during Panic Mode; releases without Touch ID after the threat clears for a set delay (3–30 s)
Lock History shows shoulder surfing events with a purple badge
Camera API declared in PrivacyInfo.xcprivacy
Notarized release — no Gatekeeper warning

✅ v0.3.1

iCloud Key-Value Storage entitlement enabled

✅ v0.3.2

Fix: crash on launch when iCloud sync contained duplicate lock history UUIDs

✅ v0.3.3

Panic Mode now mutes system audio on trigger and restores the prior mute state on release (toggleable in Settings → Panic Mode)
Panic Mode now clears the clipboard on trigger — prevents bystanders from pasting copied passwords (toggleable in Settings → Panic Mode)

✅ v0.3.4 (Current)

Fix: multi-display overlay — external monitors now blur correctly on macOS Sequoia
Fix: blur-to-hole flash eliminated — safelisted apps are always visible through holes during Panic Mode; switching to them is instantaneous with no full-blur frame
Fix: mask hole coordinates corrected for setups where the primary display and focused display have different heights (wrong NSScreen.main height was used for CG→AppKit y-flip)
Fix: window bounds now sourced exclusively from CGWindowList — AX was returning inner content views for Chromium/Electron apps, producing undersized holes
Fix: CGEvent tap now survives system-initiated disables (timeout / user input) — no-flash guarantee no longer silently degrades mid-session
Fix: CFRunLoopSource is correctly removed on panic release — eliminates a run loop source leak that accumulated across repeated panic cycles
Fix: newly connected display during active Panic Mode gets safelisted-app holes immediately instead of waiting up to 250 ms
Performance: GPU blur pipeline pre-warmed at launch; per-app CALayer mask rebuilt on-demand via CGWindowList only (~1–3 ms); 250ms loop skips no-op ticks using a rect-signature change check
Performance: preemptive mask rebuild on click now only fires when the clicked window belongs to a safelisted app — non-safelisted clicks (Dock, menu bar) no longer trigger a rebuild

💡 Future

Custom app modes / profiles (office, café, travel)
Multiple paired Bluetooth devices (iPhone + Apple Watch)

License

MIT License — see LICENSE.

Support

Made with ❤️ for developers who care about privacy

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 133 Commits
.agents		.agents
.claude		.claude
VigilScreen.xcodeproj		VigilScreen.xcodeproj
VigilScreen		VigilScreen
VigilScreenTests		VigilScreenTests
docs		docs
.gitignore		.gitignore
CLAUDE.md		CLAUDE.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md

Folders and files

Latest commit

History

Repository files navigation