How to take a photo when someone unlocks your Mac

MacUpdated 14 October 2026

You want a photo of whoever unlocks your Mac while you're away from it. Apple doesn't document a built-in way to take one, and Apple's Shortcuts and Automator guides for Mac don't describe a way to run something when the Mac is unlocked. Third-party apps can add an unlock trigger, and an app made for the job can take the photo for you.

Quick answer

Apple doesn't document a built-in way for a Mac to photograph whoever unlocks it. Shortcuts on Mac can run automations on their own, but the triggers Apple lists, such as Time of Day, Wi-Fi and App, don't include an unlock. An app built for the job, such as Failshot, can photograph each unlock while it's on.

Does macOS take a photo when someone unlocks a Mac?

Not in any way Apple documents. Apple's Mac User Guide covers Lock Screen settings, login options and the camera, but describes no setting that takes a picture when the Mac is unlocked, or when a wrong password is typed. What it does document is how to make the Mac lock itself and ask for your password, which is the first thing to get right.

Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Lock Screen in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down.
Set "Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off" to a short time.
In System Settings > Users & Groups, check that "Automatically log in as" is set to Off. Apple warns that automatic login allows anyone to access your Mac simply by restarting it.

For every way to lock the screen, see how to lock your Mac screen.

Can Shortcuts or Automator take a photo when the Mac is unlocked?

Apple doesn't document a way. Apple's Shortcuts User Guide for Mac says you can run a shortcut yourself from the Shortcuts app, Siri, the Finder (including Spotlight, Control Centre, the Actions pop-up menu, the Services menu and the Dock), the Touch Bar, a keyboard shortcut or the command line. Since macOS 26, Apple says Shortcuts on Mac also supports personal automations, shortcuts that run automatically when a trigger happens. The triggers Apple lists for Mac are Time of Day, Alarm, Email, Message, Folder, File, External Drive, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Display, Stage Manager, App, Battery Level, Charger and Focus. None of them is an unlock or a login, and neither Apple page on automations describes an action that takes a photo with the camera.

Apple's Automator User Guide covers creating and running workflows, using variables, loops and scripts, and importing workflows into Shortcuts. It doesn't describe a workflow that runs when the Mac is unlocked.

Third-party apps can add triggers that Apple's guides don't describe. Shortery, on the Mac App Store, says it can run a shortcut when the screen is locked or unlocked. You'd still need the shortcut itself to take the photo, and to decide where the photo goes and who is told it was taken.

So Apple doesn't describe a way to do this with its own tools alone.

How does an app that photographs unlocks work? Failshot as an example

An app like this uses your Mac's camera, and it has to be running when the Mac is unlocked. Apple says Privacy & Security > Camera in System Settings lists the apps you've installed that have asked to use the camera, and you can switch access off for any of them there.

Failshot is one such app. It's out now for Mac, as a download from failshot.app, for macOS 14 or later. Here is what it does:

With Failshot on, it photographs whoever unlocks your Mac, then records a 5-second video. Video is on by default and can be switched off. Sound is off unless you turn it on, and the app warns you that recording someone's voice without their permission is against the law in some places.
Whoever unlocks the Mac sees Failshot's window saying the unlock was photographed, and when a video is recording. With the Mac's built-in camera, the green light comes on.
In Unlocks, "That was me" deletes an unlock's photos from your Mac, and from your web vault if you use it. In the encrypted web vault, you can also mark each unlock "This was me", "Not me" or "Not sure".
Email alerts are optional, and off until you turn them on. With them on and signed in to a Failshot account, an alert with the photo, the time and, when it's ready in time, the video follows shortly after an unlock you don't confirm as yours. Unlocks you confirm as yours don't send one. With alerts on, Failshot also emails you about a wrong Failshot PIN or answer, or its camera access being switched off while it's on.
Location is off until you turn it on in Settings and allow it. Then an alert can say roughly where your Mac was when it was unlocked.
Switching Failshot off, or quitting it from its menu, takes Touch ID or your Failshot PIN and answer, never your Mac password. A wrong Failshot PIN or answer takes another photo. Like any Mac app, it can still be force-quit.

Failshot is free to download, but turning it on needs Failshot Pro, a paid subscription, and there's no free trial. Failshot Pro is £3.99 a month or £23.99 a year, VAT included, for as long as you stay subscribed, if you subscribe by 31 October 2026. From 1 November 2026 new subscriptions are £5.99 a month or £35.99 a year.

What should I check in any app like this?

Whichever app you look at, these are the questions worth asking before you install it. They're the same ones we'd want answered about our own.

The camera light. Apple says a green light beside the Mac's built-in camera glows to show the camera is on. Apple describes this for the built-in camera, so if you use an external camera, check what it shows. Then check what the app says about the light.
A notice to whoever unlocks. Does the person at the Mac see anything telling them the unlock was photographed? An app that's open about what it does is easier to live with, at home or at work.
Where photos are stored. Are they kept on the Mac, uploaded, emailed, or shared with anyone else? Is anything that leaves the Mac encrypted, and can you choose?
How it's switched off. Can someone who knows your Mac password simply switch it off? Apple's Force Quit window (Option-Command-Esc) can close Mac apps, so be wary of any app that claims it can't be stopped.
Your own device. Use any app like this only on a Mac you own and use, or one your organisation has authorised you to manage with it. Don't install one on someone else's computer.

If your worry is about a partner or someone you live with, please don't go through their devices. In the UK, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, is on 0808 2000 247, and you can contact your local police. In an emergency, call 999.

Where Failshot fits

Lock Screen settings make your Mac ask for your password. Failshot adds a photo of whoever unlocks it.

Photos are kept on your Mac. They leave it only in email alerts and the encrypted web vault, if you turn those on, and, if you join your organisation with its invite code, encrypted for its security team too.

What it doesn't do: it doesn't photograph a wrong password at the macOS login or lock screen. It doesn't photograph the first login after a restart or a log out. It watches only the Mac user account it runs in, so a login to another account, or to Guest, isn't photographed. Logging out, restarting or shutting down closes Failshot without asking for Touch ID or your Failshot PIN, and unless you've set it to start at login, it stays off until you open it again. It can't find a lost Mac on demand: location, if you turn it on, is noted only at an unlock. It has no remote lock or wipe. For those, use Apple's Find My. Failshot is for your own Mac, or a Mac your organisation has authorised you to manage with it. iPhone, Android and Windows versions are coming soon.

Questions people also ask

Is there an app that takes a picture when someone unlocks a Mac?

Yes. Apple doesn't document a built-in way, but apps can do it with your permission to use the camera. Failshot photographs whoever unlocks your Mac while it's on, and its window tells them the unlock was photographed. Turning it on needs Failshot Pro, a paid subscription.

Can a Mac take a photo when someone types the wrong password?

Apple doesn't document a built-in feature that does this. Failshot doesn't either: it photographs whoever unlocks the Mac while it's on, not a wrong password typed at the macOS login or lock screen. A wrong Failshot PIN or answer does take a photo.

Can I make a Shortcut that takes a photo when my Mac unlocks?

Apple's Shortcuts User Guide for Mac doesn't describe one. Shortcuts on Mac can run automations on their own, but the triggers Apple lists, such as Time of Day, Wi-Fi and App, don't include an unlock, and Apple's pages on Mac automations describe no action that takes a photo with the camera. Some third-party automation apps, such as Shortery, say they can run a shortcut when the screen unlocks.

Will the person know their photo was taken?

With Failshot, yes. Whoever unlocks sees Failshot's window saying the unlock was photographed, and when a video is recording. With the Mac's built-in camera, the green light comes on too.

Does a photo app work if my Mac is restarted?

Failshot doesn't photograph the first login after a restart or a log out. Logging out, restarting or shutting down closes Failshot without asking for Touch ID or your Failshot PIN, and unless you've set it to start at login, it stays off until you open it again.