Show HN: Someone Was Here – Find out who used your Mac while you were away

Posted by 4onthefloor124 5 hours ago

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Many thanks to my ex for inspiring my new MacOS app, Someone Was Here.

It takes a photo of whoever uses your Mac while you're away, whether you left it unlocked or they know your password, and sends their photo to your iPhone if the face isn't yours.

I built Someone Was Here as a menu bar app making use of Apple Vision and a local face recognition run via Core ML. It all runs locally on your Mac with no tracking or ads.

Real-time remote alerts are available via one-time $4.99 lifetime purchase via the free companion iPhone/iPad app, Pushover, ntfy, Telegram or a webhook.

Comments

Comment by alentred 2 hours ago

I understand that the objective is to, pardon the language, detect the "creeps", but somehow the app itself feels creepy, too :/ Somehow I wouldn't feel comfortable even installing it. Not to mention my own privacy concerns.

Comment by 4onthefloor124 1 hour ago

I felt pretty violated when someone went through my Mac and personal data without my knowledge which is why I created this app. I see this much like a home security system with cameras: a way to know when someone accesses your space.

The app runs sandboxed, doesn't have access to your personal files, and meets Apple's privacy requirements as well as my own. That said, not everyone will be comfortable with it, and that's fine.

Comment by mahboi 1 hour ago

Where is your Mac sitting that random people go through it? And it stays unlocked? My family had a shared iMac when I was a kid, but people still had their own accounts. Some of us may have known one or more other users' passwords, plus I had sudo, but that still prevented random people from going on.

Comment by ludsan 4 hours ago

> Many thanks to my ex for inspiring my new MacOS app

story implied?

Comment by 4onthefloor124 4 hours ago

Oh yes...some relationships end in closure, others end in software.

Comment by ostacke 4 hours ago

Maybe in Clojure, even

Comment by nikolay 2 hours ago

How about the free DND (DoNotDisturb) [0] by Objective See foundation?

[0]: https://objective-see.org/products/donotdisturb.html

Comment by 4onthefloor124 1 hour ago

DND is a valid alternative! There's definitely overlap, including photo alerts. DND's detection is based on opening a MacBook's lid.

Someone Was Here also detects activity after idle, lock-screen interaction, and unlocks, so it covers an already-open laptop or a desktop Mac that has no "lid" as well.

It also recognizes your face locally to suppress alerts about yourself, and offers a multiple remote alert options, Shortcuts actions with Siri phrases, a webhook for integration, and an MCP server for agents.

Comment by thisislife2 4 hours ago

Nice idea.

> Real-time remote alerts are available via one-time $4.99 lifetime purchase via the free companion iPhone/iPad app, Pushover, ntfy, Telegram or a webhook.

Instead of making users download 2 apps (one on the Mac and one on the iPhone), you should instead consider sending the alert by email (through Mail extensions) and / or iMessage (iMessage Extensions) - you can still charge for it.

Comment by keyringlight 1 hour ago

Wouldn't messages syncing to all devices, which might be a concern if you wanted the detection to be covert and only get alerts on a devices you can trust to be on your person? i.e. the 'unrecognized person' won't see a new email coming in to tell them they've been spotted and prompt then to cover their tracks.

Comment by 4onthefloor124 1 hour ago

To this point, the app holds its own desktop notification until it recognizes your face again, and only then tells you who came by. Remote alerts are instant.

Comment by 4onthefloor124 3 hours ago

Fair suggestion! The real-time remote alerts are optional.

The companion app gives you encrypted delivery through your own iCloud account without involving my servers, but I can see the appeal of email. For anyone comfortable wiring things together, there’s also a built-in MCP server alongside webhooks, so there’s plenty of room for custom integrations.

Comment by cadamsdotcom 2 hours ago

This is so weird.

Like, ...

Lock your laptop when you stand up??

Why would anyone know your password? If they do, change it.

This advice is available for the low low price of $4.99/month.

Comment by 4onthefloor124 1 hour ago

Locking your Mac is good advice. This also records someone trying to use it while it's locked.

A lock prevents access; an audit trail tells you someone tried. Same reason people have both door locks and security cameras.

And to clarify the pricing: the Mac app and local history are free. Remote alerts are $4.99 once, not per month.

Comment by _ks3e 1 hour ago

I look forward to a barrage of alerts with cat pictures.

Comment by hyperjeff 4 hours ago

Ads for spyware on HN. Is the goal entrapment instead of proper account boundaries?

Comment by 4onthefloor124 4 hours ago

The goal is an audit trail of someone trying to use your Mac, including at the lock screen. Much like a doorbell camera or home security system. It complements proper account boundaries.

There's nothing hidden about the app. It sits visibly in the menu bar, and the camera light comes on whenever it takes a photo. Face recognition happens locally. Photos stay on your Mac unless you enable an alert destination. They never touch my server. No ads or tracking. I built it how I would want an app to function from a privacy standpoint.

Comment by 2 hours ago

Comment by kube-system 1 hour ago

spyware is by definition capturing information from someone else's computer