Lock it, look at it, blink. FaceUnlock uses the camera already in your Mac, and your face never leaves it.
You allow it once, then setup walks you through the rest.
Step 02, pick one way
The button shows for about an hour after you open the app. If you don't see it, open FaceUnlock again.
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/FaceUnlock.appThis command turns off the macOS check for this copy of the app, so use it only on a copy that you downloaded from this page.
Download FaceUnlock only from this site. This app types your password, so do not use copies from other places.
Each download has a SHA-256 checksum.
shasum -a 256 FaceUnlock.dmgCompare the result with FaceUnlock.dmg.sha256.
Macs do not have Face ID. FaceUnlock adds face unlock with the camera that is already in your Mac.
Press the power button or Control-Command-Q. The camera starts to look for you at once.
An eye on the lock screen looks for you. When it knows you, it blinks to ask you to blink, so a printed photo cannot unlock it.
FaceUnlock types your password from your Keychain, and your Mac opens.
Your password always works too.
sudo in Terminal, if you turn it on. A panel shows which program asked.FaceUnlock is for convenience. It is not as safe as Face ID on iPhone, because a Mac camera has no depth sensor.
| Protection | What it does |
|---|---|
| Blink check | A printed photo cannot blink. FaceUnlock needs your face with open eyes, then closed, then open again. |
| One face only | If a second face is close to the camera, FaceUnlock waits, so nobody can hold your Mac up to your face. |
| Phone check | If your face looks like it is on a phone or tablet screen, FaceUnlock waits until the screen is gone. This is a best guess from the image, not proof. |
| Anchored learning | FaceUnlock learns from each lock screen unlock that macOS accepts. A learned view helps only when your face is also close to the face you saved, so learning cannot drift to another person. The saved face changes only when you unlock another way, with your password, Touch ID or Apple Watch, just after FaceUnlock saw you. |
| Built-in camera only | Virtual cameras (for example OBS) and USB cameras are ignored, so they cannot play a recording. |
| Lock check | On the lock screen, the password is typed only when macOS says the screen is locked. FaceUnlock checks again just before it types. |
| No repeated tries | If the Mac does not unlock after one try, FaceUnlock stops and asks you to enter your password again in setup. |
| sudo app check | The sudo module trusts only an app signed with the FaceUnlock release certificate. This requirement is in a file that only root can change. |
| Real admin popups only | FaceUnlock fills in only the real macOS popup that asks for your user name and password. Keychain popups are left alone, and it never clicks the button for you. |
| No sudo over SSH | If you connect over SSH, sudo asks for your password. |
What it cannot stop: a video of you on a screen, for example a large monitor or a phone held so close that its edges are out of view, a twin or close family member, a program that opens an admin popup when you have turned on that setting, or a program on your Mac that runs sudo while you look at the screen. If someone near you wants to get into your Mac, do not use FaceUnlock.
Limits, privacy and the rest.
No. Face recognition runs on your Mac with Apple Vision and Core ML. FaceUnlock uses the network only to check the FaceUnlock website for updates, and you can turn that off. It keeps only face embeddings, in a file in your home folder that only you can read.
macOS has no public way for an app to unlock the lock screen. FaceUnlock types your password for you, the same as proximity unlock apps. The password is in your Keychain.
macOS requires Accessibility for an app to type keys. FaceUnlock types only on the lock screen, when macOS says the screen is locked, and in the real macOS admin password popup if you turn that on.
Only while the Mac is locked and the display is on, and when you use sudo, an admin password popup, or the test window. The green camera light shows when it is on. macOS controls that light.
Glasses work. For the best results, set up an alternate appearance with your glasses on.
Sunglasses do not work: the blink check must see your eyes, so you type your password. iPhone uses infrared, which sees through most sunglasses. Mac cameras cannot.
FileVault asks for your password first, then the login window. Touch ID has the same limit. Turn on Unlock after a restart in Settings to skip both with a face check when you restart or shut down an unlocked Mac.
FaceUnlock makes dim faces brighter, but the camera needs some light.
The app is not signed with an Apple Developer ID yet. After each update, allow Camera and Accessibility again, and enter your password again.
The eye on the lock screen uses private macOS functions. If an update removes them, the eye does not show, but unlock still works.
Macs with a built-in camera and macOS 15 or later, on Apple silicon or Intel.
Turn off "Use for sudo in Terminal" and "Unlock automatically after a restart" in Settings if they are on, run the commands they show, quit FaceUnlock, and move it to the Trash. To remove its data, delete the FaceUnlock folder in ~/Library/Application Support and FaceUnlock.log in ~/Library/Logs.