FaceGate Alternative for Mac: Encrypted, No Camera Needed
FaceGate is a free, open source app locker for Mac. It unlocks with your face, Touch ID or a PIN, it runs offline, and it has a real community behind it on GitHub. For a lot of people it is enough.
People go looking for an alternative for four reasons, and they all show up in its own issue tracker and Reddit thread:
- The camera. Face unlock is the headline feature and the main source of support problems: camera not detected, the head-turn liveness check, the prompt appearing when you did not want to open anything.
- The install. FaceGate is not notarized by Apple, so you install it with a script or Homebrew, and macOS warns you about it.
- Apps only. It does not lock folders or files. Several people in its launch thread asked for exactly that.
- Nothing is encrypted. A locked app is stopped from launching. The app and its data are still sitting on the disk in the open.
What to use instead
Cloak
Cloak is the closest match if you want to skip the camera. It unlocks with Touch ID or a password, the same as FaceGate’s non-face modes, and adds what FaceGate does not have:
- Locks folders and single files, encrypted in place with AES-256.
- Hides apps completely, and a hidden app is encrypted, not just out of sight.
- Takes an intruder photo when someone fails the unlock. The camera is used for that, not for getting in.
- Lets you turn off the Mac password fallback, so someone who knows your Mac login gets nothing.
- Signed and notarized by Apple, so it installs like any other Mac app.
It is a one-time purchase from $9.99, and it runs on macOS 13 or later. FaceGate needs macOS 14.
Lockish
If you want the cheapest Touch ID lock and nothing else, Lockish is $9.99 one-time and covers app windows with a lock screen. It does accept your Mac password as the fallback, and it has no encryption or file vaults.
Lock Pro
A $5.99 App Store locker with Touch ID and a webcam photo on failed attempts. Apps only.
FaceGate vs Cloak in one table
 Cloak |  FaceGate | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 once | Free |
| Touch ID | Yes | Yes |
| Face unlock | No | Yes |
| Camera needed | No | Face mode |
| Locks folders and files | Yes | No |
| Hides apps | Yes | No |
| Encrypts | Yes | No |
| Intruder photo | Yes | No |
| Mac password shut out | Your choice | Yes |
| Notarized install | Yes | No |
| Minimum macOS | 13 | 14 |
The honest answer
FaceGate is free and does one thing: lock apps. If that is all you need and your camera behaves, it is enough. The moment you want folders and files covered, encryption behind the lock, an intruder photo, or a normal install, Cloak is the answer, for a one-time $9.99. The full head-to-head is in Cloak vs FaceGate.
Lock anything on your Mac
Cloak locks apps behind Touch ID, hides them completely, and encrypts folders with AES-256. Everything stays on your Mac. No account, one-time purchase.
Get Cloak