LidTap
Touch.
Now on your MacBook.
No touchscreen. No extra hardware. Just tap.
Free · 1.6 MB · For MacBooks with M2 or later, or a 14″/16″ MacBook Pro with M1 Pro or M1 Max.
On your phone? Open this page on your Mac later.
- Previous desktop
- Next desktop
- Play / pause
- Privacy Guard
Four corners.
Any job you like.
Start with a corner in each quarter of the screen, or divide it finer. Change what each zone does at any time from the menu bar.
Switch desktops
Move one Space left or right.
Play or pause
Whatever is playing, from any app.
Next or previous track
Skip without finding the player.
New note
Write something down the moment you think of it.
Open any app
Launches it, or brings it to the front if it’s already open.
Privacy Guard
Mics, camera and screen, all at once.
Privacy Guard
Private in one tap.
Someone walks in during a meeting. One tap and everything goes quiet.
Turns the camera off in Zoom, Teams, Webex and Google Meet. Tap again, or click, to bring everything back, with your mic restored exactly as it was.
How it works
Your MacBook already feels every tap.
Inside it is a motion sensor. A tap on the screen twists the lid ever so slightly, and LidTap can tell that twist from everything else your hands do.
- 1
Sense
LidTap reads the built-in motion sensor continuously, entirely on your Mac.
- 2
Recognise
A small model trained on your own taps works out which zone you hit.
- 3
Act
It runs that zone’s action. Taps it isn’t sure about are ignored, not guessed. So are typing, clicking, scrolling, moving the pointer, moving the lid and knocks on the desk.
1. Crisp taps on the default 2 × 2 layout. Calibration: tap the dot in each zone a few times while a meter confirms each good tap. How it works in depth
Stays on your Mac.
Your taps, your model and your settings never leave the machine.
On‑device
Everything runs locally.
No network access
LidTap never goes online.
No account
Nothing to sign up for.
Set up in about three minutes.
Download
Unzip the download and drag LidTap into Applications.
Open it the first time
LidTap isn’t notarized yet, so right‑click LidTap and choose Open. If macOS still refuses, go to System Settings › Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway.
Find it in the menu bar
A hand icon appears in the menu bar, and Settings opens.
Allow Accessibility
Click Allow… in LidTap’s menu and turn it on in System Settings. This lets a tap switch desktops and control music. Input Monitoring is optional; it helps LidTap ignore your typing.
Calibrate
About two minutes: tap the dot in each zone a few times, then 20 seconds of everyday bumps so LidTap learns what to ignore. From then on, it just listens. Tips for good taps
Requirements
- Mac
- MacBook Air or MacBook Pro with M2 or lateror 14″/16″ MacBook Pro with M1 Pro or M1 Max. Not the M1 MacBook Air, 13″ M1 MacBook Pro, desktop Macs or Intel Macs: they don’t have the motion sensor.
- macOS
- Sonoma 14 or later
- Permissions
- AccessibilityInput Monitoring optional
- Network
- None
- Price
- Free
Updating: replace the app in Applications; your calibration and settings are kept. Then switch LidTap off and on in the Accessibility list.
Stuck on a step? Ask in the LidTap Telegram group.
Questions? Ask in one place.
Problems, questions and ideas all go to the LidTap group on Telegram. That’s where I read and reply. Comments on reels and posts are easy to miss.
LidTap on Telegram
Get help with setup and calibration, report a bug, or suggest what a tap should do next.
When something isn’t working, include
- Your Mac model, from Apple menu › About This Mac.
- Your macOS version, on the same screen.
- What you did and what happened, with a screenshot or screen recording if you can.
Your lid is a button now.
Requires a MacBook with M2 or later (or M1 Pro/M1 Max MacBook Pro) and macOS Sonoma 14 or later. Release notes · Help on Telegram