What are the best MacBook anti-theft apps?

Short answer: Stealward is the best overall MacBook anti-theft app we found for people who work in public spaces. It is the only currently available product in this comparison that combines physical device signals with a loud alarm, remote alerts, live video, recording, and AI analysis of the space around your belongings.

The other products in this comparison cover narrower parts of the same problem. Stealward combines those core alarm and alert functions with offline detection, live viewing, recordings, and AI protection for the belongings around the device.

What a MacBook anti-theft app can actually do

There are two different categories that are often mixed together:

• Prevention and interruption tools react while the MacBook is still in front of you: movement alarms, unplug alerts, lid alerts, phone notifications, cameras, and screen lockdowns.
• Recovery tools help after the Mac is missing: location history, Lost Mode, remote locks, reports, and remote erasure.

The best setup uses both. Keep Find My and FileVault enabled, then add a prevention app if you regularly leave a MacBook at a café, library, coworking desk, airport lounge, or conference table.

The comparison

App	Main trigger	Remote alert	Camera or video	Live view	AI scene analysis
Stealward	Movement, power, offline detection, and AI-observed events	Apple devices	Continuous end-to-end encrypted cloud recording	Yes. Low latency and end-to-end encrypted.	Yes. Watches belongings around the device.
WatchDog	Movement	iPhone	No	No	No
Rex	Lid closed; power removed while locked. No movement detection.	iOS, Android, Telegram, or webhook	No	No	No
Unplug Alarm	Power removed or lid closed	Mobile client	Event photo	No	No
Clyde	Lid closed	iPhone and Apple Watch call	No camera feature advertised	No	No
Shepherd	Power or display/lid event	Telegram	Event video	No	No
Armed	“Tampering,” not defined more precisely in its listing	Not clearly documented	Event image	No	No

Pricing

App	Public US price reviewed
Stealward	Free core protection; Lite $29.99/year; Pro $39.99/year
WatchDog	$24.99/year; regional currency may vary
Shepherd	$1.99/week (about $103.48/year); $44.99 lifetime
Unplug Alarm	$11.99/year; $19.99 lifetime
Rex	$14.99 in-app purchase; billing period not stated in its listing
Armed	$14.99 one-time
Clyde	Free local alarm; paid price not publicly shown

The important price difference: Stealward Free already includes nearly all of the core alarm and alert features that these competitors charge for. This includes movement alerts, power alerts, a loud local alarm, and instant notifications on your other device. Stealward Free also includes offline detection. Most products in this comparison do not offer it at any price. Stealward’s paid plans add low-latency end-to-end encrypted live video, recordings, and AI Watchdog for the belongings around your device.

Prices are US prices reviewed on August 4, 2026. Where a product only publishes a weekly or monthly price, the yearly figure above is the cost of staying subscribed at that rate for a full year, not a separate annual plan.

“Not advertised” is intentional: we have not treated a feature as absent merely because a product page failed to mention it.

Stealward: the broadest protection system with core protection free

Most MacBook alarms watch one narrow signal. Stealward combines several.

On a supported Apple silicon MacBook, it can detect the machine moving. It also watches for power changes and detects when the watching device goes offline. The Mac sounds an alarm and the Apple device you keep with you receives the alert.

The larger difference is the camera. Stealward does not wait for an alarm to start creating evidence. A camera session records continuously from the moment you arm it. Encrypted video segments are uploaded to cloud storage throughout the session. You can also open a private low-latency live view at any time.

The alert and the recording use separate paths. Stealward does not need to finish uploading a video attachment before it can alert you. If the connection becomes unstable or is cut, video segments that already reached the cloud remain available. Offline detection independently tells your other device that the watcher has disappeared. The final segment may still be incomplete if the connection is cut suddenly, but the recording does not depend on starting an upload after the event.

AI Watchdog adds another layer. It can describe a possible threat in plain language. For example, it can tell you that someone is reaching toward your backpack instead of only reporting generic motion.

Among the products we reviewed, Stealward offers the broadest feature set for protecting Apple devices in public spaces. It is also the only one in this comparison that lets a Mac, iPad, or iPhone act as the device left behind.

Stealward’s Free plan already includes most of the core protection features that other apps charge for. These include movement alerts, power alerts, a loud local alarm, and instant notifications on your other device. Offline detection goes a step further. It is included for free in Stealward, while most competitors in this comparison do not offer it at all. You only need a paid plan when you want camera features such as live video, recordings, or AI Watchdog.

Rex: automatic arming

Rex focuses on automatic arming. It can recognize a normal pack-up sequence, disarm when you are leaving intentionally, and arm again when the MacBook is reopened.

Rex does not support movement detection. It only triggers when the lid closes or when power is removed while the screen is locked. An open MacBook that is already running on battery can be lifted without triggering either one. Rex can play through the built-in speakers and send notifications to iOS, Android, Telegram, or a webhook.

Rex’s paid protection includes power alerts, a loud local alarm, and instant notifications. Stealward Free includes all three. Stealward Free also includes movement detection and offline detection.

Unplug Alarm: charger-and-lid triggers

Unplug Alarm has a clear trigger model: it reacts if the charger is removed or the lid is closed. It can sound through the built-in speakers even when the Mac is muted, lock the device when armed, take a photo, and send the alert and photo to its mobile client.

Unplug Alarm does not support movement detection or offline detection. If the MacBook is open and already running on battery, lifting it does not trigger either of its documented signals.

Unplug Alarm provides power alerts, a loud local alarm, and instant notifications on another device. Stealward Free includes all three. Stealward Free also includes movement detection and offline detection. Stealward’s camera plans add recordings and a live view instead of only an event photo.

Clyde: a basic lid alarm

Clyde is built around a single action. Turn it on, leave the MacBook open, and walk away. If someone closes the lid, Clyde can sound a loud Mac alarm. Its paid version can also call your iPhone and Apple Watch.

The free version includes the local alarm but not the phone or Watch notification. Clyde only works if the attempted theft includes closing the lid. Someone who picks up an open MacBook without closing it may not trigger Clyde.

Stealward Free includes both a loud local alarm and instant notification on another device. Stealward Free also includes movement, power, and offline detection. It does not rely on the thief closing the lid.

Shepherd: event video through Telegram

Shepherd reacts when power is disconnected or the display is closed. It can play an alarm and send a video through Telegram after the event is triggered.

Shepherd does not advertise continuous cloud recording before the event. It also does not provide a live view, physical movement detection, offline detection, or AI scene analysis. Its event video has to be delivered after the trigger, so receiving it depends on the Mac still having a usable connection.

Shepherd charges for power alerts, a loud local alarm, Telegram notifications, and event video. Stealward Free includes power alerts, a loud local alarm, and instant notifications through the native Apple app. Stealward’s camera plans continuously upload encrypted recording segments before any event occurs. They also add a live view and AI Watchdog.

Armed: a one-time Mac App Store option

Armed says it detects tampering, alerts the user, captures an image, and plays a siren. It is a one-time Mac App Store purchase and requires macOS 13 or later.

The listing does not explain its exact tampering triggers or remote-alert mechanism clearly enough for us to compare them with confidence.

Armed charges for tamper detection, a siren, and an event image. Stealward Free includes movement and power detection, a loud local alarm, and instant alerts on another device. Stealward’s camera plans add recordings, live viewing, and AI analysis instead of only a single event image.

WatchDog: movement alarms and iPhone alerts

WatchDog is publicly available as a direct Mac download. It detects movement, sounds a local alarm, alerts a paired iPhone, and locks down the Mac while it is armed. Its local protection continues without Wi-Fi.

WatchDog charges for movement detection, a loud local alarm, and instant iPhone alerts. Stealward Free includes all three. Stealward Free also includes offline detection. WatchDog can keep its local alarm running without Wi-Fi, but it does not detect that the Mac has gone offline and alert its owner. It also does not provide a camera, event recording, live view, or AI scene analysis.

Why Stealward Free is already the best overall choice

You do not need a paid Stealward plan for core anti-theft protection. Stealward Free includes:

• Movement detection
• Power alerts
• Offline detection
• A loud local alarm
• Instant notifications on another Apple device

These free features already cover the core alarm and alert functions that Rex, WatchDog, Unplug Alarm, Clyde, Shepherd, and Armed charge for. Stealward Free also includes offline detection. Most of those products do not offer it at any price.

Unplug Alarm, Clyde, and Shepherd do not add a core theft-protection function that Stealward Free is missing. They each cover a narrower part of the same job. Stealward Free detects interference, sounds an alarm, and notifies you remotely without requiring a subscription.

Paid Stealward plans do not unlock the basic protection listed above. They add the camera layer. This includes low-latency end-to-end encrypted live viewing, continuous encrypted cloud recording, and AI Watchdog for the belongings around the device. The recording is already being built before an event occurs. An alert never has to wait for a video attachment to finish uploading.

That is why Stealward Free is already the best overall choice in this comparison. The paid plans extend it beyond a conventional alarm app.

Keep Find My enabled as well. It handles location and recovery after a Mac is missing, while Stealward covers the moment an attempted theft begins.

No app makes a laptop theft-proof. The useful question is whether it can turn a quiet, unnoticed grab into an immediate alert while you are still close enough to act.

For Stealward, that is the job: watch the device, watch the surrounding space, and tell you what is happening rather than waiting until the MacBook is already gone.

See how Stealward protects your devices and belongings.

Disclosure and methodology: this guide is published by Stealward. We make one of the apps being compared. We reviewed official product pages, App Store listings, and published documentation on August 4, 2026. Features and prices change, so check each product’s current listing before buying.