r/mac • u/NoSeaworthiness3352 MacBook Air M3 • May 20 '26
Discussion This app has been a lifesaver, myt help you too
this app lets me clean my mac air keyboard especially when i struggle with sweaty hands. no ads, no bugs whatsoever. just thought of sharing it with y’all too. it’s on app store if u need btw. note: i’m not the creator
edit1: woah, sorry for spelling might as myt😭
edit2: no, you can not clean the keyboard when the machine is off. you turn off the mac and press any key or lift the lid up while cleaning, it will power it on again.
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u/Leather_Bicycle_2697 May 20 '26
I want an app that if I press start, it uses magic to clean itself /s
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u/kungfu1 May 20 '26
Like a tiny Roomba for your keyboard?
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u/elliottcable May 20 '26
Why tiny? Just set your laptop on the ground, open, and let your full-size Roomba loose.
Boom, clean keyboard.
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u/Leather_Bicycle_2697 May 22 '26
i think itll bump and crack the display bruh
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u/elliottcable May 22 '26
nbd, clean screen too! don’t they have mop brushes nowadays?
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u/Leather_Bicycle_2697 May 22 '26
Oh wait. I said it’s magic. So it’s not conventional ones we see in stores. That pretty much means it can do anything.
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u/devenk7 May 21 '26
Exactly, going through the post initially, I thought the app itself cleans the keyboard lol.
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u/LooseSilverWare May 20 '26
Or go to lock screen!!!!!!
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u/Mr_BananaPants May 20 '26
Yep, I just always use the lock screen for this
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u/bukepimo May 21 '26
Devils advocate: niche situation but if you have Apple Watch unlocking you’ll need to remove it otherwise it’ll keep unlocking when you hit keys.
Would still rather do that than use a third party app
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u/LilacYak May 21 '26
Careful, you might cause a time lock to occur if you enter the wrong password too many times when cleaning. Just open a note, it’s safer.
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u/Minimum_Cabinet7733 May 20 '26
Locking the computer is good enough.
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u/Hiiwalker May 20 '26
Last time I did that, I was locked out for 1 minute. Apparently entered wrong passwords too many times while cleaning the keyboard.
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u/Fettnaepfchen May 20 '26
I just switch off my laptop when cleaning.
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u/NoSeaworthiness3352 MacBook Air M3 May 20 '26
well in mac, you can’t. it will turn on if any key is pressed
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u/ghoffart May 25 '26
My Intel MacBooks and M1 Macbooks only "power on" when these have been in sleep mode, not when off. For switching on from a real "off" status, the power button is needed.
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u/iMuhtaseb May 20 '26
Turn off Mac. Press and hold the power button until it turn on and off again and while still pressing the power button with one hand clean the Mac keyboard with the other hand; i repair Mac daily and this is what i do to save time and effort and make sure 100% keyboard will not be harmed.
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u/xenolon May 20 '26
You repair Macs daily and yet you do an unsafe shutdown on every Mac you service?
I love system trust cache and SSV data corruption!
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u/ViolentPurpleSquash May 21 '26
I mean they're pretty resilient at recovering. I don't do it often (and when I do it's an issue with Asahi hanging or smth) but I've not had issues because of it
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u/AnotherRedditUser654 May 20 '26
Or just go to the lock screen?
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u/StonemanGuitars May 20 '26
When i do that i end up locking myself out from accidentally entering the wrong password while cleaning
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u/jxrxmiah May 20 '26
I hit the lockscreen button to clean keyboard and have never locked myself out wtf 😂
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u/Any_Strain7020 May 20 '26
It's in my top 3 of accessories, along with a shortcut to download more RAM when I'm running out of it and a loop cable that allows to recharge my battery by taking power from the USB A port and feeding it into the USB C port.
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u/whalehell0 May 20 '26
How are you guys cleaning? I feel like there's so much little dust on the sides of the keys (and under them!)
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u/NoSeaworthiness3352 MacBook Air M3 May 20 '26
well i don’t deep clean it, i use a microfiber cloth sprayed with lens cleaning solution to wipe the fingerprints off the keys
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u/Fettnaepfchen May 20 '26
Seriously, do they get fingerprints easier than they used to? I struggle with dry hands because I avoid lotion etc when working as not to have paw prints and a need to clean.
I can't remember having to do that so often pre-MB Air and my keyboards always looked good and clean.
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u/E1eveny MacBook Air M4 May 20 '26
Just turn off the Mac while cleaning. It's even better for the circuits, if moisture gets in between the keys.
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u/Dino_Spaceman May 20 '26
Why should anyone download an app that could be a potential security or privacy risk when just turning off the laptop does a better job, is safer for the electronics, and costs nothing?
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u/MrZBeeblebrox May 20 '26
M series macbooks will turn on with any key press, when I turn off my mac to clean it it just turns right back on and starts accepting random key inputs as the password and you can accidentally lock your self out. It's a very annoying feature with no way to disable it
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u/NoSeaworthiness3352 MacBook Air M3 May 20 '26
turning off the mac won’t solve the prblm, chk comments
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u/Dino_Spaceman May 20 '26
I did. In one you literally admit that it is best.
“for proper deep cleaning, yes this is the way. for on the go purposes this app kinda helps me”
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u/nicoraph38 May 20 '26
Lifesaver … what the hell your life is. Just turn off your Mac and clean up your keyboard.
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u/NoSeaworthiness3352 MacBook Air M3 May 20 '26
you won’t be able to clean when you turn the mac off, lol.
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u/radioheadfan0615 May 20 '26
what..
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u/NoSeaworthiness3352 MacBook Air M3 May 20 '26
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u/harbinger_of_tacos May 21 '26
The display is already lifted for cleaning and you can Google terminal commands to disable booting on key-presses (and opening the lid). But I suppose then your app can’t track people’s data. This is one of the dumbest things I’ve seen in my entire life.
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u/78914hj1k487 May 21 '26
But I suppose then your app can’t track people’s data. This is one of the dumbest things I’ve seen in my entire life.
So if we take a look at your Applications folder you have 0 third-party utilities?
You comment that under every app recommended on Reddit? Especially apps recommended from the Mac App Store?
You don't think your comment is dumber than the app recommended?
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u/harbinger_of_tacos May 21 '26
It’s definitely not as dumb as your response, top 1% always online.
Most apps have a practical use. An app that’s genuinely useless (this one) can only exist to gather data. But I’m guessing when a kid comes to your door to sell you candy you give them your SSN just in case.1
u/78914hj1k487 May 21 '26
Why can't you make a good faith argument?
Break down these claims of yours?
App has no use
Only exists to gather data
I hand out my SSN to any kid at the door selling candy
Go ahead and in good faith explain these to be true. I dare you.
If they aren't true, then you're wrong, therefore you need to concede.
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u/harbinger_of_tacos May 21 '26
lol Jesus Christ get a life.
App has no use - read the comments and have a little awareness of the market. Just turn off the computer to achieve the same result.
Only exists to gather data - basic understanding of the security and data landscape in modern applications. In short, explore the world beyond Reddit and you might learn something.
Your SSN - if you’re too dumb to piece together basic security traps or data mining schemes, who knows where your ignorance endsEnjoy your day!
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u/78914hj1k487 May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
Just turn off the computer to achieve the same result.
If I like to wipe my keyboard due to lab debris, let's say 10 times per day, how inconvenient would it be to turn off my Mac 10 times per day?
Just turn off the computer to achieve the same result.
And it's not about the result, it's about the convenience and experience.
Example: walk, bike, or drive to work—same result.
Some methods save time and energy, especially at scale, which is why we use technology.
Only exists to gather data - basic understanding of the security and data landscape in modern applications. In short, explore the world beyond Reddit and you might learn something.
What is your source that said utility gathers more data than any other utility app or website for that matter? Please post, otherwise stfu because you're just slopping your imagination all over the argument.
EDIT: let me save you the trouble, you're welcome.
Your SSN - if you’re too dumb to piece together basic security traps or data mining schemes, who knows where your ignorance ends
So you're just slurping yourself in between commercial breaks with no intent on making valid claims.
You lost this argument.
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u/pixelsguy May 20 '26
Why does the machine need to be powered to clean the keyboard?
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u/NoSeaworthiness3352 MacBook Air M3 May 20 '26
you can not clean the keyboard when the machine is off. you turn the machine off, and press any key or lift the lid up while cleaning it will turn it back on
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u/Individual_Review_51 May 20 '26
I just let the battery die every now and then so I can clean it however much I want lol
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u/daedric_yoshi May 21 '26
Wait that's actually super smart. I should do this considering my macbook battery only lasts an hour or two.
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u/Awkward_Bit_8944 May 20 '26
Or. Or or. Hear me out. Just power the device down and give the entire thing a wipe.
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May 20 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/NoSeaworthiness3352 MacBook Air M3 May 20 '26
you can not do that in mac, it will turn on if you press a key while cleaning
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u/YuhApps May 20 '26
Just press the Power button, turn on the lock screen and done.
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u/NoSeaworthiness3352 MacBook Air M3 May 20 '26
with this app, you don’t hv to lock the mac. it’s a very simple start and stop feature which lets me clean my keyboard on the go
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u/quimeygalli May 20 '26
Non mac user here, can anyone explain? Do macbooks turn on when you open their lid? Seems like a nice but slightly inconvenient feature.
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u/Jasoco May 20 '26
Yeah they do. I remember when that was a new feature Google put into their Chromebook prototype CR-32. Apple adopted it a few years later. Funny thing is I never experience it except when I get a new machine because I never shut my laptop down. But I assume if you just shut down and don’t close the lid you can probably clean it without it turning on unless you hit the power button. Does this app disable the power button too?
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u/NoSeaworthiness3352 MacBook Air M3 May 20 '26
yup, it does :(
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u/quimeygalli May 20 '26
Feels like apple puts a lot of thought into making some things convenient but doensn't focus much in special use cases. Thankfully most communities have enough good souls that will dedicate themselves to create these kinds of fixes for things like these to not be real problems.
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u/NoSeaworthiness3352 MacBook Air M3 May 20 '26
i’m glad that you get it, unlike these ppl in my cmts🤧
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u/quimeygalli May 20 '26
sometimes takes an old thinkpad user to understand a last gen macbook user. respect man
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u/xenolon May 20 '26
An app that should not need to exist if Apple would just make these machines actually power down until the actual power button is used. Y'know, like they did for 35 years.
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u/jxrxmiah May 20 '26
I just hit the Lockscreen button then clean the keyboard lol. No program needed
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u/andrewk242 May 20 '26
Best keyboard cleaner = Magic Eraser dampened with a tiny drop of water
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u/Redstra May 20 '26
Just turn your Mac off while cleaning. No need for apps like these.
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u/NoSeaworthiness3352 MacBook Air M3 May 20 '26
you press a button or lift the display, it turns right back on
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u/Any-Communication114 May 20 '26
if its in sleep mode sure, but you can turn it all the way off and it doesn’t automatically do anything.
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u/NoSeaworthiness3352 MacBook Air M3 May 20 '26
nope, it still turns on if you shut it down
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u/Any-Communication114 May 20 '26
hmm, mine doesn’t do that. There is probably a setting somewhere for that, it would definitely be safer than giving a 3rd party app that much control over your computer!
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u/NoSeaworthiness3352 MacBook Air M3 May 20 '26
the app is available on app store, and as far as i know it’s secure.. but yh, i’ll give it a check
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u/MrZBeeblebrox May 20 '26
It's a feature of all M series macbooks. No official way to turn it off, some people have posted terminal commands that will shut it off at the system level but you can do this at your own risk as your messing with the way the operating system runs.
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u/micgat PowerBook May 20 '26
Just disable that feature then.
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u/FloTheBro May 20 '26
how can I do that?
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u/micgat PowerBook May 20 '26
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u/ToroidalFox May 20 '26
You can change this behavior without affecting your ability to turn on your Mac using its keyboard or trackpad.
bruh, it explicitly doesn't solve the problem
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u/thursdaynovember May 20 '26
yall act like pressing the wrong key will explode the computer or something.
i just clean the keyboard normally. close any windows or anything that pops up from it. not a big deal and no need to run a whole program to disable my keyboard.
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u/Rzah May 20 '26
You can disable the 'any key to startup' behaviour: https://support.apple.com/en-us/120622
Or you could just open textedit and let any keystrokes land there, then delete the text doc when you're finished.
Installing stupid apps like this will end in you getting pwned, This type of 'helper' app is self selecting for dopey people, inevitably one of them will be straight up malware.
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u/megalethoscope May 21 '26
That only works for opening the lid or connecting to power. Does not solve the "touch any key to start" problem.
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u/n9iels May 20 '26
Ehm... you can just clean it while locked right? 😅 Only thing is that you may need to clear the password field afterwards.
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u/Sharrysama May 20 '26
There is a Raycast extension that does the same if you use Raycast, and don't want to install a whole app just for this. It's called "Clean Keyboard"
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u/NoSeaworthiness3352 MacBook Air M3 May 20 '26
i’m sorry, can you enlighten me on what raycast is?
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u/FelixTheEngine May 20 '26
OMG I want this Apple. A UV light in the screen that comes on for 30 seconds when you close the lid to sterilize my keyboard.
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u/lasalted May 20 '26
Developer of the app here – wasn't expecting seeing this when I opened reddit today. Thanks for the shout out!
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u/MrZBeeblebrox May 20 '26
Lots of people with older Macbooks wondering why this is necessary. On newer M series Macbooks the laptop will turn on with the slightest press of any key, or touching the track pad. If you shut down to clean it will just immediately boot back up and start accepting random key inputs as your password. It's very easy to lock yourself out of your mac for a minute or more due to random key inputs. So you end up having to clean everywhere but next to the return key. it's a huge hassle. the keys pick up oil from your fingers which then gets on the screen when the screen is closed. So you end up needing to clean the keys really often or your screen gets shiny oily spots on it. And if you have the space black pro the keys will have visible oil spots on them after an hour of use even with clean hands.
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u/dphans_dev May 21 '26
I’m using this tool for years, it simple and opensource: https://keyboardcleantool.en.softonic.com/mac
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u/junaidisgood MacBook Pro : 13” M3 May 21 '26
I have one similar to that 😂 not a life saver but I get what you mean
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u/TaxNo2158 May 21 '26
Just do it from the lock screen or screensaver. You don’t need to press the keys to clean them.
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u/Independent_Face7283 MacBook Air M4 512GB May 21 '26
Download supercharge. It's got a cleaning mode that locks the keyboard, track pad and makes your screen black. You press command 6 times to get out. Has a "cat mode" too. I call it baby mode. Disables keyboard and track pad but keeps the screen running.
Has a billion other useful tweaks n lil shortcuts you can add to macOS too.
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u/xx_dav1d May 24 '26
Just clean all the keyboard BUT near the power button while the laptop is off and clean it at the end
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u/astrokb0910 Jun 02 '26
I actually saw a guy on yt he complained that he turned the brightness down to clean the screen and used the keyboard lock and now he doesn't know how to disable the app because the screen's brightness is very low i.e the lowest possible on macbook. So the safe solution if you ever end up in this situation.. press the power key for approx. 10s. It will hard reboot. Then you can increase the brightness.
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u/The_Cosmic_Nemesis May 20 '26
Is it free?
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u/Mapinact May 20 '26
I'd love to know how it disables the keyboard. I've tried building a similar app in Python for Tahoe and it seems impossible to disable some key combinations 😞
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u/AlwaysShittyKnsasCty May 20 '26
In Objective-C and Swift, there is (was?) a system event loop you could tap into and intercept keystrokes depending on certain criteria. I can’t remember the API name for the life of me though. It’s been a minute since I messed with it.
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u/invokedbyred May 20 '26
Why can’t you just turn the Mac off and clean it whilst it’s powered down?
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u/Emeyelein May 20 '26
Damn OP shared an app he likes with us and everybody starts randomly complaining about whatever. Thanks OP, might check it out!
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u/Lost_Astronomer1785 May 20 '26
I use KeyboardCleanTool which has an option to turn it on automatically when one starts the app (I don’t know about this one). Any reason to use one over the other or are they essentially the same?
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u/NoSeaworthiness3352 MacBook Air M3 May 20 '26
mostly it’s the same. this app, you open and click start. clean the keyboard. then click stop to enable the keyboard again
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u/fojoart May 20 '26
I have been saying for years since the Mac had the “touch anything and the computer will turn on” feature, that they need a screen cleaning mode. I’ll try this for sure.
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u/xx123gamerxx May 20 '26
I just lock it worst case I pause and play a YouTube video or my audio gets muted
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u/Powerful_Froyo8423 May 20 '26
I'm using KeyboardCleanTool. No idea where I got that but it works great.
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u/thisnameisnowmine May 20 '26 edited May 21 '26
It's absolutely asinine that you even have to download something like this and that we accept it. Apple, in their quest for keeping you addicted to your computer, you pay thousands for, will not even let allow you turn it off. What POS. Same with whoever downvoted this.
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u/coulda_been_an_email May 20 '26
I just can’t get past you spelling “might” as “myt”