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Show HN: Auto lock your Mac via phone proximity (No Apple Watch)
Hi HN,
I built Blunlock to solve the "clamshell mode" problem. Since I use my MacBook with the lid closed, Touch ID is useless. I wanted a way to lock/unlock via proximity without a $300 Apple Watch or a battery-draining phone app.
How it works: It pings your phone’s native Bluetooth LE signal and measures RSSI to determine proximity. Walk away -> Mac locks. Walk back -> it wakes up.
The Tech: Built with Electron. It is currently an unsigned .dmg, so Gatekeeper will flag it (Right-click -> Open to bypass). I'm doing a free beta to test reliability before I buy the $99 Apple Cert.
You can find the site and get early access at: blunlock.com
I’d love feedback on handling BT MAC randomization or optimizing scanning!So I built Blunlock.
It relies entirely on the Mac pinging your phone's native Bluetooth LE signal.
How it works: You pair your phone via Bluetooth. The app runs in the background and measures the RSSI (signal strength) to determine proximity. Walk away, the signal drops, the Mac locks. Walk back, it wakes up.
The Tech & The Catch: I built this using Electron to get it out the door quickly. Before I drop the $99 on an Apple Developer Cert to properly sign it and handle the Mac App Store sandbox restrictions, I want to make sure the proximity logic actually holds up across different environments (M-series vs Intel, different BT interference levels). Because it's currently an unsigned .dmg, Gatekeeper will flag it.
I'm doing a closed beta right now for free to anyone willing to right-click -> "Open" and help me test the Bluetooth reliability before I do a real launch. If you want to help me break it, you can grab the beta from the website.
Would love any feedback on handling BT MAC address randomization or optimizing the background scanning!
- qebvcx 6mo agohttps://github.com/ts1/BLEUnlock https://github.com/ts1/BLEUnlock Already exists for free.
- dabbygabby 6mo agoBLEUnlock is great for power users, but I’m building this for people who don’t want to mess with GitHub. I want a 'set and forget' tool I could recommend to my non-technical friends, plus better multi-Mac roaming. Just a simpler, more polished alternative.
- bdangubic 6mo agoso your target are users that: - have an iPhone - have a Mac - have never heard of Homebrew to install BLEUnlock This is a very small market, you may not want to shell out $99 as you probably want make that money back.
- dabbygabby 6mo agoFair point, but that assumes it’s strictly an iPhone-to-Mac bridge. The scope is quite a bit wider: - Any BT device: The "key" doesn't have to be an iPhone. It can be a Garmin watch, an Ultrahuman ring, or even your Bluetooth headphones. - Windows support: I'm expanding to Windows next, which has a massive market of non-technical users who just want a simple UI. - Multi-device relay: This is the main technical differentiator. BLEUnlock is strictly 1:1 and prone to signal drops. Blunlock uses a relay architecture—one machine handles the BT proximity and instantly unlocks/locks all your other machines at your desk. If I can nail the multi-device roaming and make it dead simple for regular users across platforms, the $99 is a bet I'm willing to make. I appreciate the feedback!
- dabbygabby 6mo agoOne other thing I forgot to mention regarding the market size: the B2B compliance angle. SOC 2 requires employees to lock their screens every time they step away from their desks. Automating that without forcing people to type their passwords 50 times a day is a massive pain point for teams. If this can make compliance invisible, it becomes a pretty easy sell for companies.