Run your Mac from across the room.

Silo 26 turns your iPhone into a trackpad, keyboard, media remote, app launcher, live screen viewer and unlocker for your Mac. Free, with no account and no ads.

Download for Mac Download on theApp Store

Mac app: macOS 14 or lateriPhone app: iOS 17 or laterNotarized by Apple

1 finger drag · move pointer Tap · click 2 fingers · scroll

In the iPhone app

What each tab does

Everything sits in the same five tabs you see at the bottom of the app. Pick one, and your iPhone becomes that tool.

Trackpad
Media
Apps
Screen
More

Trackpad

A full trackpad and keyboard

The whole screen is the trackpad, with the gestures you already use on a MacBook. Tap the keyboard button to type on the Mac with your iPhone keyboard, dictation included. A key bar adds ⌘ ⌥ ⌃ ⇧, arrows and Escape. Drag lock holds the button down so you can move a window across the screen without keeping a finger pressed.

Gestures
	Drag, tap, tap twice	Move, click, double-click
	Drag, tap, pinch	Scroll, right-click, zoom
	Swipe sideways, up, down	Switch desktops, Mission Control, app windows
	Pinch, spread	Show all apps (App Library or Launchpad), show the desktop

Media

A remote for whatever is playing

See what is playing on the Mac in Now Playing, and drag its seek bar to move through the track. Play, pause and skip, or step back and forward with the arrow keys (the player decides how far). Set the volume with a slider, or mute. The same tab dims and brightens the display and the keyboard backlight, and has buttons for Space and full screen for the moment a video starts.

Apps

Every app on the Mac, in a list

Search the apps installed on your Mac and open one with a tap. For apps already running you can bring one to the front, hide it, quit it, or force quit it when it stops responding.

Screen

The Mac's screen, live on your phone

Watch the Mac's display as a live video stream and touch it directly. Choose Point to click where you tap, Drag to move things, or Scroll. If you have more than one display, pick which one to show, and lower the quality when the connection is slow. When the network falls behind, Silo 26 drops frames instead of smearing the picture.

Unlock, shortcuts, clipboard, power

Unlock with Face ID. Save your Mac password once. When the Mac is locked, tap Unlock, look at your phone, and Silo 26 types the password into the lock screen for you.

Shortcuts you choose. Twelve to start with, like Spotlight, Switch App and Screenshot. Add your own: a key combination, an app to open, or a line of text to type.

ClipboardSend text from iPhone to Mac, or copy it back
PowerLock, display off, screen saver, sleep, log out, restart, shut down
Siri and ShortcutsLock Mac, play or pause, set volume, open an app
SettingsPointer and scroll speed, natural scrolling, tap to click, haptics

Getting set up

Pair once, on your own Wi-Fi.

The first connection happens on your local network, and you approve it at the Mac. Nobody can pair from somewhere else.

Install both apps

Download the Mac app from this page and open it. It lives in the menu bar. Get the iPhone app from the App Store.
Allow two permissions

On the Mac, allow Accessibility so Silo 26 can move the pointer and type. Allow Screen Recording if you want the Screen tab.
Pick your Mac

With both on the same Wi-Fi, open Silo 26 on your iPhone. Your Mac appears in the list. Tap it.
Match the code

Both screens show the same six digits. If they match, click Allow on the Mac. The two devices then remember each other.

An example. Your code is new every time you pair.

Security

The relay forwards data it can't read.

At home, your iPhone talks to your Mac directly. Away from home, traffic goes through the Silo 26 relay. In both cases it is encrypted on one device and only decrypted on the other.

End-to-end encryption

Every connection starts with an X25519 key exchange, and every message is sealed with ChaCha20-Poly1305. The keys live only on your iPhone and your Mac.

The relay can't read or control anything

It forwards ciphertext between two devices that already trust each other. It can't see your screen, your typing or your password, and it can't send commands.

Devices are pinned

After pairing, each side remembers the other's identity key and checks it on every connection. A new device has to pair again, on your Wi-Fi, with your approval.

Your Mac password stays on your iPhone

It's kept in the iPhone Keychain behind Face ID, sent encrypted only when you tap Unlock, and the Mac doesn't keep it.

No account, no tracking

There's nothing to sign up for. The apps contain no analytics or advertising code. The privacy policy lists exactly what the relay keeps.

Internet access is your call

Reaching your Mac from outside your network is off until you turn on "Allow over the internet" in the Mac's menu bar.

Questions

FAQ

Is it really free?

Yes. Version 1 is free, with no ads, no in-app purchases and no account.

Why isn't the Mac app on the Mac App Store?

To click, type and unlock the lock screen, Silo 26 needs system-wide input access that the Mac App Store's sandbox doesn't allow. The download on this page is signed and notarized by Apple, and the app checks for updates and installs them itself.

Does it work when I'm not home?

Yes, once you've paired at home. Turn on "Allow over the internet" in Silo 26 on the Mac, and your iPhone can reach it through the relay from any network. The Mac has to be awake and connected.

What does unlocking need?

A Mac password saved on your iPhone, Face ID (or your passcode), and a Mac that is locked but logged in. After a restart, log in once at the Mac yourself: Silo 26 starts with your session, so it can't type at the startup screen.

Which Macs and iPhones work?

Any Mac running macOS 14 Sonoma or later, and any iPhone running iOS 17 or later.

My Mac doesn't show up in the list.

Check that Silo 26 is running in the Mac's menu bar, that both devices are on the same Wi-Fi, and that the iPhone app has Local Network access. The support page covers firewalls and guest networks.

Can I use Siri or the Shortcuts app?

Yes. Silo 26 adds actions for locking the Mac, turning off its display, play or pause, next and previous track, setting the volume, muting, and opening an app by name.

Start with the Mac.

Install the menu bar app, then open Silo 26 on your iPhone.