Shoji
A privacy screen that blurs or locks every Mac display
The verdict
Locking your Mac in a cafe puts it to sleep and shuffles your windows, so most people leave the screen open instead. Shoji slides a paper-like screen over every display with Command-L, keeps music and downloads running, and can keep Messages, Slack and Mail blurred unless you are the one using them. It needs no Screen Recording or Accessibility permission. The trial lasts only 24 hours, which is short for deciding on a $14 utility.
Get it if
You work from cafes, coworking spaces or open offices and step away from your MacBook several times a day.
Skip it if
You work alone at home, where the built-in Control-Command-Q lock does the job for free.
What it helps you do
- Hide your screen before you walk away
- Keep chat apps blurred in public
- Blur everything but the window you use
- Come back to windows where you left them
Plans and prices
License
$14$14 once, on up to 3 Macs, with every future update
Trial
FreeFree for 24 hours with every feature, no card needed
What changed
Added to The Useful Apps
Written up in The Useful Tech
Pick something else if
BartenderPick it if you have more menu bar icons than space, especially on a MacBook with a notch.From $20
Hidden BarPick it if you have so many menu bar icons that some vanish behind your MacBook's notch.Free, open source
One SwitchPick it if you keep separate apps just to hide desktop icons, stay awake or flip Dark Mode.$4.99 once
The details
- Runs on
- Mac
- Menu bar app
- Lives in the menu bar
- No account
- Works without signing up
- Free trial
- Try the paid version first
Developer's websiteSpot a wrong price or fact?