1. Accepting these Terms
MacGuard is provided by Grisha Pipoyan (“MacGuard,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). By downloading, installing, accessing, or using MacGuard, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use MacGuard. If you use MacGuard for an organization, you confirm that you have authority to accept these Terms for that organization.
Your use of MacGuard is also subject to the MacGuard Privacy Policy. The companion app is obtained through Apple’s App Store and is also subject to Apple’s applicable App Store terms and Standard Licensed Application End User License Agreement. These Terms do not replace Apple’s terms for the App Store transaction or license.
2. What MacGuard provides
MacGuard is a physical-security alarm for compatible Apple silicon MacBooks. The Mac app can sound a local alarm in response to enabled movement, input, lid, or wake protections. Optional companion and cloud features provide authenticated pairing, remote push alerts, Alert History, and private JPEG photo evidence.
The Mac app is distributed free of charge from the official MacGuard website. The companion app is offered as a one-time paid App Store download. MacGuard version 1.0 has no subscription and does not require a MacGuard user account.
MacGuard is a supplemental deterrence and notification tool. It is not an insurance product, tracking service, law-enforcement service, or guarantee against theft, unauthorized access, loss, or damage.
3. License and ownership
Subject to these Terms, MacGuard grants you a limited, non-exclusive, revocable, non-transferable license to use the Mac app on compatible Apple-branded devices that you own or control for lawful personal or internal business purposes.
The companion app is licensed through the App Store under Apple’s applicable usage rules and Standard Licensed Application End User License Agreement, including any permitted Family Sharing or volume-purchase use. Apple, rather than MacGuard, controls the App Store transaction and storefront terms.
MacGuard and its original software, design, branding, and documentation are owned by Grisha Pipoyan or the applicable licensors. Third-party components remain subject to their own licenses. No rights are granted except those stated in these Terms, Apple’s applicable terms, or an applicable third-party license.
4. Requirements and permissions
The Mac app requires macOS 14 or later on a compatible Apple silicon MacBook. Motion and lid sensor availability varies by model and is checked by the app. The companion app requires iOS or iPadOS 17 or later and a compatible Mac running MacGuard.
Some protections require permissions or owner actions, including administrator approval for the motion helper, camera access for Camera Evidence, notification permission, Input Monitoring, and device-owner authentication for sensitive controls. You decide which optional protections to enable. If a required permission, system service, or hardware capability is unavailable, the related feature may not work.
Internet access is required for pairing, remote push alerts, cloud Alert History, and cloud JPEG evidence. The local Mac alarm and local incident recording do not depend on the cloud service being reachable. A fully sleeping Mac cannot continuously run user-space motion or camera monitoring; Closed / Sleep Guard protects the next open or wake after its grace period.
5. Your responsibilities
You are responsible for:
- installing MacGuard only on devices you own, control, or are authorized to protect;
- selecting suitable protection settings and testing them on the physical Mac before relying on them;
- maintaining device power, speaker availability, permissions, notification settings, network access, and current compatible software where relevant;
- keeping your Mac, companion device, Apple credentials, and device passcodes secure; and
- complying with applicable laws, workplace rules, and the rights of other people.
You must not use MacGuard to stalk, harass, unlawfully monitor, or unlawfully record another person; access a device or evidence without authorization; interfere with or overload the service; attempt to bypass its security or rate limits; distribute malicious material; or use MacGuard for an unlawful purpose. Good-faith security reports may be sent to support@getmacguard.com.
6. Alarms, alerts, and service limitations
Alarm behavior depends on the enabled protections, selected sensitivity, available hardware, permissions, operating-system behavior, and physical conditions. False alarms and missed triggers are possible. You should test MacGuard in the environment and configuration where you plan to use it.
The local siren starts independently of the cloud reporting path. Remote alerts depend on the Mac, companion device, internet connection, Apple Push Notification service, Firebase Cloud Messaging, and MacGuard’s cloud service. A status that says an alert was “sent” means the push provider accepted it; it does not prove that the companion displayed or received it.
Alert History contains events successfully reported through the cloud path and can include test alerts. MacGuard does not promise a durable offline queue for Mac alert metadata. Cloud features may be delayed, limited, or unavailable because of maintenance, outages, network conditions, provider behavior, security controls, or circumstances outside our control.
7. Camera Evidence
Camera Evidence is optional. When it is enabled and protection is armed, MacGuard keeps the camera session active so capture can remain available after the Mac locks; macOS shows its camera-use indicator. Pre-trigger frames are discarded without recording, face detection, or upload. When an alarm starts, MacGuard can create up to about 20 seconds of camera-only incident video. A successfully completed incident video is stored locally on the Mac and is never uploaded by MacGuard. Face-presence detection runs locally and indicates only that a face may be present; it does not identify a person. While an alarm remains active, MacGuard may upload no more than three compressed JPEG evidence photos for authenticated access by the currently paired companion.
You are responsible for enabling and positioning Camera Evidence lawfully, providing notices or obtaining consent where required, and avoiding use in places or circumstances where recording would violate another person’s rights. Evidence may be incomplete, unavailable, unclear, deleted under the selected retention controls, or insufficient for identification or legal use.
The Privacy Policy explains evidence handling and retention in more detail.
8. Pairing and account security
MacGuard does not require a user account. Pairing uses a time-limited claim and matching verification number, and pairing is not complete until the Mac approves the companion. You are responsible for comparing the verification number, rejecting unexpected requests, protecting physical access to both devices, and unpairing a companion you no longer control.
Do not share pairing claims, device secrets, App Check tokens, Apple credentials, or private evidence. Contact support if you believe a paired device or credential has been compromised.
9. Purchases and refunds
The Mac app is currently available free of charge from the official MacGuard website. Apple processes the companion-app purchase, localized price, currency, taxes, payment method, receipts, Family Sharing eligibility, and refund requests under Apple’s terms and policies. MacGuard does not receive your payment-card details or Apple Account password and cannot issue an App Store refund directly.
Refund requests for the companion app must be submitted through Apple’s applicable refund process. Nothing in these Terms limits consumer rights that cannot lawfully be limited.
10. Privacy and retention
The MacGuard Privacy Policy describes the information MacGuard processes, why it is used, service providers, security measures, retention, and available controls. Local video retention is independent from the cloud lifecycle. Cloud alert history and uploaded JPEG evidence are generally scheduled for deletion after approximately 30 days, subject to periodic cleanup and safe retry behavior.
11. Updates, changes, and availability
MacGuard may provide corrections, security changes, compatibility updates, or feature changes. Mac software update checks are user controlled, and MacGuard does not silently download or install Mac updates. You are responsible for reviewing release information and installing updates you choose to use.
We may modify, suspend, or discontinue a feature or the cloud service when reasonably necessary, including for security, legal, provider, compatibility, or operational reasons. When practical, we will provide notice of a material change through the website, application, or release information.
12. Third-party services
MacGuard relies on services and technologies supplied by Apple, Google Firebase, Google Cloud, and other platform components identified in the software or documentation. Their products and services are governed by their own terms and policies. We are not responsible for third-party services outside our control.
13. Disclaimers
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, MacGuard is provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of uninterrupted operation, error-free operation, fitness for a particular purpose, or successful prevention, detection, notification, evidence capture, recovery, or investigation of an incident.
No security product eliminates every risk. You remain responsible for appropriate physical security, backups, device access controls, insurance, and other safeguards suitable for your circumstances.
Some jurisdictions do not allow certain warranty exclusions. In those jurisdictions, the exclusions apply only to the extent permitted by law.
14. Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, MacGuard and its provider will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or exemplary damages, or for loss of a device, data, evidence, profits, business opportunity, or anticipated savings arising from or related to MacGuard or an inability to use it.
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability, warranties, remedies, or consumer rights that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.
15. Suspension and termination
You may stop using the service at any time and remove the apps from your devices. We may restrict or end access to cloud features when reasonably necessary to address abuse, unlawful use, a security risk, a material violation of these Terms, or a legal requirement. Sections that by their nature should continue after termination, including ownership, disclaimers, liability limits, and applicable legal rights, will continue.
16. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms to reflect product, provider, security, operational, or legal changes. We will change the “Last updated” date and, when required, provide additional notice. Continued use after updated Terms take effect constitutes acceptance where permitted by law. If you do not agree to an update, stop using MacGuard.
17. General terms
If a provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in effect to the extent permitted by law. A failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. These Terms, the Privacy Policy, Apple’s applicable App Store terms for the companion app, and applicable third-party licenses form the relevant agreement for the services they govern.
Nothing in these Terms limits mandatory rights or remedies available under the law that applies to you. These Terms do not choose an exclusive court, require arbitration, or waive a right that cannot lawfully be waived.
18. Contact
Provider and seller: Grisha Pipoyan
Product name: MacGuard
Support and legal contact: support@getmacguard.com
Published Terms URL: https://getmacguard.com/terms