TapNoiseGuard Mode
Walk away. It sounds an alarm if it’s moved.
Turn on Guard Mode at a café table. If someone lifts, tilts or opens your MacBook, or pulls the charger, a loud alarm sounds until you stop it with Touch ID or your password.
Turn Guard on and it waits five seconds before it arms, so you have time to walk away. Once it’s armed, lifting the MacBook sounds the alarm straight away. A tilt of more than 12° that holds for a moment does too.
The alarm turns the MacBook speakers up to full, covers every screen with a warning and keeps going until the owner stops it.
Guard Mode has no settings of its own. It is either on or off, and the triggers below are fixed.
Five seconds to leave
It waits before it arms, so you can walk away first.
A full alarm
Full volume on the built-in speakers, with a warning over every screen.
Only the owner stops it
Touch ID or your login password, for turning it off too.
Charger alarm on every Mac
Even without a motion sensor, pulling the charger sounds the alarm.
Turn it on.
Settings › MacBook › Guard Mode
- Click the keycap in the menu bar, then Settings, then MacBook.
- Under Guard Mode, click Turn On. Walk away within five seconds.
- To turn it off, click Turn Off… and confirm with Touch ID or your password.
Options.
Guard Mode has no settings. These are its fixed triggers, and which ones your Mac can use.
- Arming
Five seconds after Turn On, Guard arms. This is fixed.
- Lift and tilt
A lift sounds the alarm at once. A tilt of more than 12° that holds sounds it too. Needs a motion sensor.
- Bumps
One bump gives a warning chirp. A second bump within four seconds sounds the alarm. Needs a motion sensor.
- Lid
Moving the lid more than 15° sounds the alarm. Needs the lid angle sensor.
- Charger
Unplugging while Guard is armed on power sounds the alarm. Works on any Mac.
Limits.
- Lift and tilt need a motion sensor: a MacBook Pro with M1 Pro or M1 Max and later, or a MacBook Air with M2 and later. Other Macs get the charger alarm only, and Settings says so.
- The lid alarm needs the lid angle sensor: the same list, plus the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro.
- Force Quit ends Guard, and closing the lid can stop it too.
- It isn’t a lock. It makes a loud noise, but it doesn’t stop anyone taking the MacBook.
- While it’s armed, Guard keeps the Mac from sleeping when idle, so it uses more battery. Plug in for long sessions.
- The alarm sets the MacBook speakers to full. When Guard turns off, they go back to the level they were at.
- A Mac with no login password has nothing to check, so Turn Off doesn’t ask for one.
- Guard only works while TapNoise is unlocked. Without a license, Guard ends.
Questions.
What happens if someone just bumps the table?
One bump gives a warning chirp. A second bump within four seconds sounds the alarm, on a Mac with a motion sensor.
Can I use Guard on a Mac without a motion sensor?
Yes, but it only watches the charger, and the lid if your Mac has a lid sensor. Settings says that Guard can’t feel a lift or a tilt on that Mac.
How do I stop the alarm if I’m the owner?
Click “I’m the owner. Stop the alarm”, then confirm with Touch ID or your password.
Related.
Every key, a little joy.
TapNoise is US$7.99 once, before tax, on up to 2 Macs, with every update included. No subscription. Not for you? Ask for a refund within 14 days.