Undercover for Mac has gone. What to use instead

MacUpdated 14 October 2026

If you used Undercover to protect a Mac, or you've seen it recommended in an older article, you'll find it no longer exists. Orbicule, the company that made it, discontinued Undercover. Today, Apple's Find My, Prey and HiddenApp cover locating a lost Mac, and Failshot covers a different question: who unlocked it.

Quick answer

Orbicule's Undercover is discontinued. Orbicule told users by email that all Undercover support, its website and its recovery service would stop on 1 January 2020. For a lost or stolen Mac today, Apple's Find My locates, locks and erases it. Prey and HiddenApp offer location, remote lock and more across several devices. Failshot photographs whoever unlocks your Mac while it's switched on.

What was Undercover?

Undercover was anti-theft software for the Mac from Orbicule, released in January 2006. Reports from its launch describe it checking in with Orbicule's recovery centre in the background. If a Mac was reported stolen, it sent its location on the internet and screenshots of what was on the screen, and the recovery centre worked with law enforcement to get the Mac back. Version 1.5, in February 2006, added iSight camera support, so Undercover could also send pictures of the thief. It was sold for US$29.99 at launch.

Why was Undercover discontinued?

In an email to Undercover users, Orbicule's chief executive, Peter Schols, gave several reasons:

Apple had tightened macOS security, which made it harder to run software like Undercover reliably. Orbicule called this a good thing in general.
With FileVault turned on, Undercover couldn't run if a thief started up the Mac without the password.
Apple's Find My, in macOS Catalina, could use nearby Apple devices over Bluetooth to locate a missing Mac, and third-party apps had no access to that.
It was hard to compete with free Apple software that comes with every Mac.

The same email recommended HiddenApp to users who wanted to carry on protecting their Mac, and said the undercoverhq.com website and the recovery service would stop on the same date as support.

What can I use instead of Undercover?

It depends what you want. If you want to find a lost Mac, the built-in option and the locating services are the closest match to what Undercover did. If you want to know who used your Mac, that's a separate job.

Apple's Find My shows a Mac's approximate location on a map, plays a sound, locks the Mac in Lost Mode with a message and phone number, and erases it. Apple calls Find My Mac the only Apple service that can help locate a lost Mac. It must be set up before the Mac goes missing. Apple's pages don't describe it taking a photo.

Prey lists support for Windows, macOS, Ubuntu, ChromeOS, iOS and Android. Its personal plan, Prey Starter, is listed at US$2.99 a month for 5 device slots, excluding taxes, with location, screen lock, a remote alarm and missing reports. Prey's help centre says camera pictures and screenshots come in the reports you receive after marking a device as missing. Remote wipe is on its business plans.

HiddenApp's site shows apps for Mac and iOS and says it protects Android, Apple, Chromebook and Windows devices. Its site lists location history, remote lock with a passcode and warning message, remote wipe, and evidence collection: locations, pictures, screenshots and nearby Wi-Fi networks. It covers up to 10 devices, offers a 7-day free trial, and sends businesses and schools with more than 10 devices to its new platform, Senturo.

Failshot photographs whoever unlocks your Mac while it's on, then, by default, records a 5-second video. It doesn't locate a lost Mac and has no remote lock or wipe. It's free to download, but switching it on needs Failshot Pro, 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.

Which one should I choose?

Match the tool to the worry. Each of these was checked on its own maker's pages on 14 October 2026, and features change, so check again before you buy.

"I want to find my Mac if it's lost or stolen." Turn on Find My first. If you want one plan across phones and other computers too, look at Prey or HiddenApp.
"I want to lock or erase it from somewhere else." Find My does both. Prey and HiddenApp also offer remote lock, and remote wipe on the plans that include it.
"I want to know who unlocked my Mac." None of the locating tools above lists a photo taken each time your Mac's screen is unlocked. Failshot does, while it's switched on.
"I want both." Use Find My, or Prey or HiddenApp, to locate the Mac, and Failshot alongside to see who unlocked it.

How do I set up Find My on my Mac?

Find My only helps if it is on before the Mac goes missing. Apple says the Mac must be set up in Find My. On iCloud.com it must be online to be located, and with the Find My network on, the Find My app can show it even when it's offline.

Choose Apple menu > System Settings.
Click your name, then click iCloud.
Click See All, scroll down and click Find My Mac.
Click Turn On, entering your Apple Account password if asked.
Click Turn On again, then click Allow when asked to let Find My Mac use your Mac's location.

Apple also says that to see a lost device on a map, Location Services must be on for Find My.

Also turn off automatic login. Apple warns it allows anyone to access your Mac simply by restarting it. Choose Apple menu > System Settings > Users & Groups and set "Automatically log in as" to Off.

Where Failshot fits

Undercover was built for recovering a stolen Mac. Failshot is built for a narrower thing: seeing who unlocked your Mac, say while you were away. With a stolen Mac it only helps if the person gets past your login.

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. Switching Failshot on needs Failshot Pro. 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 your Mac sees Failshot's window saying the Mac is guarded, with the photo just taken and a line saying when a video is recording. On a Mac's built-in camera, the camera light comes on whenever Failshot uses it.
If you turn on email alerts, any unlock that isn't confirmed as yours is emailed to you with the photos, the time and, when it's ready, the clip. 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. If you also turn on location in Settings and allow it, the alert says roughly where the Mac was.
Photos are kept on your Mac. They leave it only in email alerts and in 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. You can open the vault from any browser.
Switching it off, or quitting it from its menu, takes Touch ID or your own Failshot PIN plus your answer, never your Mac password. Like any Mac app, it can still be force-quit. A wrong Failshot PIN or answer takes another photo.

It doesn't photograph a wrong password at the macOS login or lock screen. It doesn't photograph the first login after the Mac starts up, restarts or logs 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. If it's force-quit, it takes no photos until it's running again. It doesn't locate a lost Mac or follow it (an alert can say roughly where it was, if you turn location on) and has no remote lock or wipe. Failshot for Mac is out now as a download from failshot.app, for macOS 14 or later, for your own Mac only. iPhone, Android and Windows versions are coming soon. Failshot isn't affiliated with Orbicule, Apple, Prey or HiddenApp; their names are trademarks of their owners.

Questions people also ask

Does Undercover still work on a Mac?

No. Orbicule told users that all Undercover support, the undercoverhq.com website and the Undercover recovery service would stop on 1 January 2020. Without the recovery service, the software has nothing to report to.

Who made Undercover for Mac?

Orbicule, a software company whose chief executive was Peter Schols. It released Undercover in January 2006. When it discontinued the app, its email to users recommended HiddenApp as a replacement.

Did Undercover take photos of thieves?

Yes, from version 1.5. Orbicule added iSight camera support in February 2006, less than three weeks after launch, so Undercover could send pictures of the thief along with screenshots and its location.

Is Find My enough to protect a Mac?

For locating, locking and erasing a lost Mac, Find My is Apple's own tool, and it's the one Apple points to. It doesn't take a photo of whoever has the Mac. If you want a photo of whoever unlocks it, add an app such as Failshot.

Is HiddenApp still available?

Yes. Its site lists location history, remote lock, remote wipe and evidence collection for up to 10 devices, with a 7-day free trial, and directs businesses and schools with more than 10 devices to Senturo.