Someone Was Here, a Mac app, photographs anyone who uses your Mac while you're away
Someone Was Here is a Mac app, listed free on the Mac App Store, that photographs anyone who uses the computer while its owner is away and sends the picture to the owner's iPhone. The product page puts it in one line: when someone sits down, it takes their photo.
The trigger is someone using the Mac after it has been idle, trying the lock screen, or unlocking it. A second later there is a photo of that person, along with the time, how they got in, and how long they stayed.
To avoid alerting you about yourself, the app learns your face in a two-minute setup that involves a few head turns. It then checks every photo right on the Mac, so you do not get an alert about yourself.
The photo reaches the free Someone Was Here iPhone app within seconds, through the owner's own iCloud. The app also works with Pushover, ntfy, Telegram or a webhook. Nothing changes on screen while the other person is at the Mac. When the app sees the owner again, the Mac tells them who came by.
The app sits in the menu bar where the owner can see it. The page says it is made for protecting your own Mac, and adds: if you share your space, tell people it's there.
On price, the Mac app and the iPhone app are free. Instant alerts to the phone are a $4.99 one-time purchase. The page also points to a privacy policy.
Key facts
- The app photographs anyone who uses the Mac after it has been idle, tries the lock screen, or unlocks it, and sends the photo to the owner's iPhone.
- Each alert comes with the time, how the person got in, and how long they stayed.
- Setup takes two minutes with a few head turns so the app learns the owner's face; photos are checked locally on the Mac, so the owner is not alerted about themselves.
- The Mac app and the iPhone app are free; instant alerts to the phone are a $4.99 one-time purchase.
- Delivery goes through the owner's own iCloud, with Pushover, ntfy, Telegram or a webhook as alternatives.
Why it matters
This app quietly records who actually sat down at the machine and tells you afterward. The page describes a silent design, with nothing changing on screen while the other person is at the Mac, and a report to the owner when the app sees them again. It packs a webcam-based intruder photo, local face matching and phone delivery into a free menu bar app.
Who it affects
Mac owners who leave a computer unattended at home, at a desk or in a shared space and want to know whether anyone used it. It also affects the people around those Macs: anyone who sits down at a machine running the app can be photographed. The page tells users who share their space to say the app is there.
How to use it
Install Someone Was Here from the Mac App Store, where it is free, and run the two-minute setup with a few head turns so it learns your face. Add the free iPhone app to get the photo within seconds through your own iCloud. Instant alerts to the phone are a $4.99 one-time purchase. If you prefer another channel, the app also works with Pushover, ntfy, Telegram or a webhook.
How solid is it
Everything here comes from the app's own product page, so the claims are the vendor's description rather than independent findings. The page gives no developer name, release date or version number, no accuracy or false-positive figures, and no user numbers or reviews. How the face check works is described only as learning your face in setup and checking every photo on the Mac. What the free tier does without the paid instant alerts is not spelled out.
Risks and caveats
The app photographs people, and the page offers little guidance on consent beyond one line: it is made for protecting your own Mac, and if you share your space, tell people it's there. Whether photos are stored or encrypted beyond arriving through your own iCloud is not stated, and the privacy policy is referenced but its content is not in the text. Accuracy of the owner-recognition step is not quantified, so how often it would wrongly flag or miss someone is unknown.
“When someone sits down, it takes their photo.”
— Someone Was Here product page