Make it recognise you.
Follow guided face enrolment. Add another look for glasses, different lighting, or a change of style.
A familiar face. A little less friction.
Meet Glance. Your Mac knows the look.
Face unlock for your Mac. A familiar face, a quiet animation, and a simpler way back to your desktop.
One-time purchase · App + installation guide
Intel & Apple silicon · macOS 15+ · Camera required.
Check compatibility & how face unlock works →
Webcam-based convenience, not Apple Face ID. Glance enters your stored Mac password after recognising you.
A more familiar way back in.
Ready to recognise you
App animation in an illustrated Mac · No camera access.
Face recognition on your MacA notch, or a floating pillYour password stays local
Less reaching. More doing.
Look up.
Pick up where you left off.
Glance recognises your face through your Mac’s camera and enters your password at the lock screen. A small convenience, with a little personality.
At home on your Mac.
A compact scan animation sits in the notch. Macs without a notch get a floating pill instead. Prefer less motion? Turn the animations off.
Your setup. Your choice.
Choose your camera and when scanning begins: on wake, on lock, or when you press Space at the lock screen.
A few minutes to make it yours
Meet once.
Recognise again.
Everything you need to get started comes with the download.
- 01
Move into Applications.
Unzip your download, open Glance.dmg, then drag Glance into Applications.
- 02
Introduce yourself.
Open Glance, allow Camera and Accessibility access, and follow the guided face enrolment.
- 03
Make yourself at home.
Save your Mac password in the app, authorise the session with Touch ID or your device password, and choose your scanning preferences.
Before you buy
Convenience.
With clear limits.
Glance uses an ordinary camera, rather than the depth sensors in Apple Face ID. Please understand the tradeoff before using it.
Need a hand? Contact us ↗macOS 15 or later. Intel or Apple silicon.
A working camera is required. You’ll need permission to allow Camera and Accessibility access, and to store your Mac login password in Glance. Managed Macs may restrict these permissions.
Not Apple Face ID or Touch ID.
Glance is a convenience feature, not a security upgrade. It uses 2D camera recognition and does not reliably reject a video of your face. Liveness checks help with some photo attempts but do not make it equivalent to Apple’s hardware biometrics.
It enters your saved password.
macOS does not offer Glance a native face-login API. The app types your stored password after a match in an authorised session. Keep your usual password available; sign in normally after a restart before using Glance.
Face processing stays on your device.
According to the developer, camera frames are processed in memory, with face embeddings and your password encrypted locally. Session access uses the macOS Keychain and user authentication. Update checks can contact the developer’s service.
Good to know
A few details.
What is included?
Glance 1.1 for Intel and Apple silicon, packaged in a ZIP with a simple installation guide and licence notices. Wallpapers and Fold are separate purchases.
Is Glance made by Canvas & Glass?
Glance is an independent open-source app by Jonathan Zhou. This is a paid download package from Canvas & Glass with installation instructions. The original project is also available from the developer’s repository ↗. The original MIT licence is included.
Which permissions does it need?
Camera access lets Glance recognise your face. Accessibility lets it enter your password at the lock screen. Touch ID or your device password authorises access to the encrypted local data. Only grant these if you are comfortable with that access.
Can I still use my password?
Yes. Your normal Mac password remains the fallback. Glance must be running with an authorised session; it does not replace the initial sign-in after restarting your Mac.
How do I change or remove my data?
Use Glance’s settings to edit or delete enrolled identities and the stored password. If your Mac password changes, update the saved password in Glance before trying face unlock again.
How do updates work?
The supplied app includes the original developer’s update checker. Updates, availability and future features are controlled by that project; this purchase does not promise particular future releases.
GlanceFace unlock for MacA little less between you and your day
Your face.
A familiar welcome.
Get back to your desktop with a glance.
Make yourself at home
£6.99
One-time purchase
App + installation guide
macOS 15+Intel & Apple siliconLocal face recognition