The MacGaze Alternative for face unlock
MacGaze does one job well: look at your locked Mac and it types your password for you. It costs A$14.99 for one Mac after a 14-day trial, stores your password encrypted in the Keychain, and says plainly that it is convenience, not security. It also needs macOS 26 on an Apple silicon Mac with a built-in camera. Notchy's Face Unlock does the same job on far more Macs, inside a notch app you may already run.
Looking for MacGaze itself? It lives at macgaze.com.
- MacGaze price
- A$14.99 one-time (one Mac), A$24.99 family (three Macs); 14-day free trial
- MacGaze requires
- macOS 26 or later, Apple silicon with a built-in camera
- Notchy price
- $24.99 one-time, 7-day free trial
Why use Notchy instead of MacGaze?
- On far more Macs
Face Unlock is part of Notchy, a one-time $24.99 purchase with a 7-day free trial — and it runs from macOS 13 on Intel and Apple silicon, not only macOS 26 on Apple silicon.
- Runs on Macs MacGaze can't
MacGaze requires macOS 26 and Apple silicon. Notchy is a universal app from macOS 13 Ventura, so an Intel MacBook or a Mac still on Sonoma or Sequoia can use Face Unlock too.
- External webcams and clamshell mode
MacGaze asks for a built-in camera. Notchy re-chooses the camera on every scan, so a lid-closed laptop or a Mac mini with a webcam works.
- Same honesty about the limits
Both use a normal 2D camera without Face ID's depth sensor. MacGaze says a good video might get in; treat Notchy the same way — a convenience for a Mac in a trusted place.
Everything Notchy does, in one app
- Fluid Dynamic Island animations on the Mac notch
- Command palette (⌃⌥K) — every action one keystroke away
- Knock — double-tap a modifier key to open the notch
- AI usage tracker (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot)
- Detach any tab into a menu-bar popover
- Now Playing music controls (Apple Music & Spotify)
- Time-synced karaoke lyrics under the notch
- Mac clipboard history shelf (password-manager safe)
- Searchable clipboard — filter by text, file name, or OCR'd words
- On-device OCR — copy a screenshot, get its text (Apple Vision)
- Window snapping — drag a window to the notch to tile it
- App Launcher — pin apps to the notch, open with one tap
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- Text snippets — TextExpander-style pastes from the ⌘K palette
- One-tap screen capture to clipboard + shelf
- Color eyedropper — sample any pixel, hex auto-copied
- System-wide mic mute for every meeting app at once
- Keystroke HUD for demos & screencasts (secure-input safe)
- Keyboard cleaning lock with countdown island (⌘⎋ unlocks)
- Menu-bar icon hiding — Bartender-style separator & chevron
- Live CPU / memory / network stats flyout
- Custom islands through the local developer API (off by default)
- iPhone-style call island — Answer/Decline FaceTime on the notch
- Notch Terminal — real VT100/xterm shell in a PTY, its own tab
- Camera Guard — alert (or block) when any app opens your camera
- Caps Lock HUD — brief island on every toggle
- Full Charge island with adjustable threshold + low-battery sound
- Alt HUD styles — edge-pinned bar or circular gauge off the notch
- Audio-reactive Now Playing visualizer (real FFT of system audio)
- Custom closed-notch idle animation — drop in your own Lottie JSON
- Drag-and-drop file drop shelf — persists across relaunches
- Zip & unzip files right from the shelf
- Image converter (HEIC, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, PDF) + video → GIF
- Run Apple Shortcuts with one tap
- Screenshots auto-staged on the shelf, ready to drag
- Download finished alerts with Reveal in Finder
- USB drive mount island with one-tap Eject
- Apple Reminders quick capture & due list
- macOS Pomodoro notch timer & stopwatch — streaks + 7-day chart
- Resizable expanded panel (width & height, live preview)
- System HUDs (volume, brightness, battery)
- Audio output switcher (speakers, AirPods, monitor)
- AirPods connection manager & battery
- Magic Mouse, Keyboard & Trackpad battery + low-battery alerts
- Quick notes & Calendar widgets
- Camera Mirror (check your appearance)
- Keep Awake (caffeine toggle)
- Teleprompter (Cuely) for Zoom calls
- Focus-aware alerts & native haptic feedback
- Lock screen widgets & hide-the-notch mode
- 134 languages, fully localized
- Native SwiftUI, tuned for Apple silicon
The honest verdict on MacGaze
MacGaze is a focused, candid app and a fine buy on a new Apple silicon Mac. If your Mac isn't on macOS 26 or Apple silicon, Notchy's Face Unlock does the same thing — with a Dynamic Island attached.
MacGaze alternative — FAQ
How much does MacGaze cost?
A$14.99 as a one-time purchase for one Mac, or A$24.99 for a family plan covering three Macs, with a 14-day free trial, per macgaze.com.
What Mac does MacGaze need?
An Apple silicon Mac running macOS 26 or later with a built-in camera. Notchy's Face Unlock runs from macOS 13 Ventura, on Intel or Apple silicon, with built-in or external cameras.
Is Notchy Face Unlock as secure as Face ID?
No — nor is MacGaze. A Mac webcam has no depth sensor. Notchy adds a liveness check and keeps your password and face prints in the Keychain, but it is a convenience feature.
Where does Notchy keep my password?
In the macOS Keychain, next to your face prints, never in a file. It is checked against your account at setup so a typo is caught before the lock screen.
Is Notchy free?
No. Notchy is a one-time $24.99 purchase for one Mac with a 7-day free trial — no subscription or in-app purchase.