As the camera
It films the room it sits in.
- Built-in camera, USB webcam or your iPhone
- Keeps watching from the menu bar
- Alerts on your iPhone, iPad, another Mac or an Android phone
Mac App Store · macOS 13 or later
RECAM for Mac. The camera. Or the screen.
The Mac that stays home films the room it sits in and alerts your phone. The Mac on your desk shows every camera you own, even in a small window that floats over your work. Same app as on your iPhone. One QR scan.
Get RECAM
Live video and alerts free for your first 3 days, then RECAM Pro.
Apple silicon or Intel · No account · Pairs with iPhone, iPad, other Macs and Android
Two jobs
Pick the job. Switch any time.
As the screen
Every camera, at your desk.
- Cameras in a sidebar, ⌘1 to ⌘9
- A Mini Window over your work: ⌥⌘P
- Alerts in Notification Center
One job at a time: a Mac watches or is watched. Switch Role… in the File menu changes it.
Mac as the camera
The Mac that stays home becomes the camera.
The iMac in the hall. The MacBook that retired to a shelf. A Mac mini with a webcam. Any Mac on macOS 13 Ventura or later, Apple silicon or Intel, can film the room it sits in and send what it sees to your phone.
Built-in camera
On a MacBook or an iMac.
USB webcam
For a Mac mini, Mac Studio or Mac Pro, or a better angle.
Your iPhone
Through Continuity Camera: RECAM needs macOS 14 for it.
Up to 1080p at 30 fps, if the webcam can.
Detection runs on the Mac.
- People and animals.
- More than 40 sounds you switch on one by one: glass breaking, a smoke alarm, a baby crying, a dog barking.
- Three profiles: Home Security, Pet Watcher and Baby Phone.
Siren or lullaby, through the Mac’s speakers Pro
From the live view, sound a siren through the Mac’s speakers, or the speaker it plays through. On a Baby Phone camera, a lullaby or white noise plays instead. It plays at the Mac’s volume, and RECAM tells you when that’s too low.
Siren or lullaby through your Mac’s speakersClips record to the Mac’s own disk and nowhere else.
Turn an old MacBook or iMac into a security cameraMac as the screen
Every camera you own. One sidebar.
The spare iPhone in the nursery, the old Android phone at the window, the iMac in the hall: they all sit in a sidebar. Pick one and the live video fills the window, or the whole screen with ⌘F.
Sound detected
⌘1 to ⌘9
Jump straight to a camera.Notification Center
Alerts land there. Close the window and RECAM waits in the menu bar, so they keep coming.Touch ID
Lock RECAM with Touch ID or your Mac password. Whoever borrows your Mac doesn’t get your living room with it.Scan to add
Add a camera by scanning its QR code with the Mac’s own camera, built in or USB.Clip replay Pro
Switch from live to the camera’s recorded clips, step through them, then go back to live.
Mini Window · ⌥⌘P
Keep the camera in the corner of your work.
Option-Command-PPress ⌥⌘P and the live view shrinks to a small window that stays on top of every app, on every desktop, even over apps in full screen. Drag it where it bothers you least. Double-click it to get the full window back.
It shows up if you share your entire screen.
Picture-in-picture camera on your Mac while you workOne camera
The one you had open.Sound on
The camera’s sound keeps playing. ⇧⌘M mutes it before a call.RECAM’s own window
Not the macOS picture-in-picture player.
Get RECAM
Live video and alerts free for your first 3 days, then RECAM Pro.
Keyboard
Every camera, one keystroke away.
- Command-NAdd a camera
- Command-1 to Command-9Jump to a camera
- Command-FFull screen
- Option-Command-PMini Window
- Shift-Command-MMute or unmute
- Command-RRecord a clip
- Command-TVoice message Pro
- Shift-Command-SSiren, or the lullaby on a Baby Phone camera Pro
Voice message: one press starts it, you record up to 30 seconds, and it plays out loud on the camera. Delivered, not a call.
Works with what you have
It pairs with the devices you already own.
A Mac pairs with an iPhone, an iPad, another Mac or an Android phone, in either direction, with one QR scan. No account, no hub to buy.
- iPhone MacA spare iPhone films. Your Mac watches.
- iMac iPhoneThe iMac in the hall films. Your iPhone watches.
- Android MacAn old Android phone films. Your Mac watches.
Same app as on your iPhone and iPad.
Privacy
The picture stays between your devices.
Your footage never leaves the device for analysis — not a single frame.
End-to-end encrypted
Encrypted on the camera device, decrypted on yours. Nothing in between can read a frame.
Blind relay
Direct between your devices when your network allows. Otherwise a relay forwards encrypted packets it cannot read, store or watch.
Clips on the Mac’s disk
A Mac camera records to its own disk. Replay streams over the same encryption.
The QR code is the key
Scanning it hands over the encryption key, so RECAM keeps the code out of screenshots and screen sharing.
Pricing
Free download. Then RECAM Pro.
No account and no payment details to start.
Your first 3 days
Free
No account
- Live video and sound
- Alerts for people, animals and the sounds you pick
RECAM Pro
$4.99/month
or $49.99 a year
- Live video and alerts after your first 3 days
- Clip replay
- Siren or lullaby
- Voice messages
- Extra viewers
One subscription covers your iPhone, iPad and Mac on the same Apple Account.
FAQ
Questions Mac owners ask.
Is it the same app as on my iPhone?
Yes. It’s the same RECAM as on your iPhone and iPad, from the Mac App Store, and it pairs the same way, with one QR scan. One RECAM Pro subscription covers your iPhone, iPad and Mac on the same Apple Account. A Mac does one job at a time: it watches your cameras or it is the camera, and Switch Role… in the File menu changes it.
Which Macs can run RECAM?
Any Mac on macOS 13 Ventura or later, Apple silicon or Intel. To check, open the Apple menu → About This Mac. A Mac mini, Mac Studio or Mac Pro has no built-in camera: to be the camera, it needs a USB webcam or an iPhone through Continuity Camera (macOS 14 or later). To watch, it can add a camera by scanning its QR code with a webcam, or by opening a share link from the camera’s owner.
Can my iPhone be the Mac’s camera?
Yes, through Continuity Camera, on macOS 14 or later. Apple’s feature exists on macOS 13, but RECAM needs macOS 14 for it. It’s handy for a Mac with no camera of its own. A spare iPhone can also be the camera by itself: install RECAM on it and leave the Mac out.
Can my MacBook keep filming if I close the lid?
No. Closing the lid puts the Mac to sleep, and a sleeping Mac films nothing. Keep the lid open and the MacBook plugged in. RECAM keeps the Mac awake while it streams, and the display can sleep.
Do alerts keep coming when the RECAM window is closed?
Yes. Alerts land in Notification Center, and RECAM keeps running from the menu bar when you close the window, unless you turn that setting off. A Mac that is the camera keeps watching, too. To stop it completely, quit it from the RECAM icon in the menu bar.
Does RECAM for Mac work with my Android phone?
Yes, in either direction. An Android phone can be the camera your Mac watches, and a Mac can be the camera you watch from an Android phone.
What’s free, and what needs RECAM Pro?
The download is free and needs no account. Live video and alerts are free for your first 3 days. After that, both need RECAM Pro, monthly or yearly. Clip replay, the siren or lullaby, voice messages and extra viewers are part of RECAM Pro.
Give your Mac a job.
Film the room, or watch every camera. macOS 13 Ventura or later.
