Show HN: PanicLock – Close your MacBook lid disable TouchID –> password unlock

PanicLock is macOS menu bar utility that instantly disables Touch ID and locks the screen with a single click or closing your laptop lid.

One-click panic lock— Click the menu bar icon or press a hotkey to instantly lock Lock on Close— Optionally lock and disable Touch ID when you close the lid Temporarily disables Touch ID— Forces password-only unlock Auto-restore— Original Touch ID settings restored after unlock Keyboard shortcut— Configure a global hotkey (e.g., ⌃⌥⌘L) Launch at login— Start automatically when you log in

• macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later
• Mac with Touch ID

| Action | Result | |---|---| | Left-click icon | Trigger panic lock immediately | | Right-click icon | Open menu (Preferences, Uninstall, Quit) |

When enabled in Preferences, closing your Mac's lid will automatically disable Touch ID and lock your screen. Touch ID stays disabled until you re-login with your password. If your screen locks for other reasons (screensaver, display sleep, etc.), Touch ID will still work as normal.

On first use, you'll be prompted for your admin password to install the privileged helper. This is a one-time setup.

• Clone this repository
• Open PanicLock.xcodeproj in Xcode
• Set your Development Team in both targets (PanicLock and PanicLockHelper)
• Update Team ID in Info.plist (SMPrivilegedExecutables) and Info-Helper.plist (SMAuthorizedClients)
• Build and run

From the app: Right-click → "Uninstall PanicLock..." → Enter admin password

Manual:

sudo launchctl bootout system/com.paniclock.helper
sudo rm -f /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.paniclock.helper
sudo rm -f /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.paniclock.helper.plist
rm -rf /Applications/PanicLock.app

PanicLock uses a privileged helper (installed via SMJobBless) to modify Touch ID timeout settings:

• Reads current timeout via bioutil -r -s
• Sets timeout to 1 second via bioutil -w -s -o 1
• Locks screen via pmset displaysleepnow
• Restores original timeout after ~2 seconds

Minimal privileges— Helper only runs 3 hardcoded commands (bioutil, pmset) No command injection— Timeout parameter is a Swift Int, not a string Code-signed XPC— Helper verifies connecting app's bundle ID + team ID + certificate No network activity— App is 100% offline, no telemetry or analytics No data collection— Only stores preferences (icon style, keyboard shortcut) Open source— Full code available for audit