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.
68 karma · joined June 29, 2026
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.