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Pricing & system requirements
Do I have to pay? Is TouchNow free?
On the same Wi-Fi (your local network), every feature is free forever — all three control modes (Trackpad / Direct touch / Game controller), the fully customizable virtual controller, Single-App Streaming, multi-display, Picture in Picture (PiP), the magnifier, and more. All free, with no one-time unlock and no feature wall. The only paid item is the "Remote Access" subscription, needed only when you're not on the same Wi-Fi and want to connect home across networks. Our promise: features that are already free will never move behind a paywall, and beyond Remote Access there will never be a second subscription.
Remote Access (connecting home across networks when you're not on the same Wi-Fi) is a subscription: US$2.99 per month, or US$19.99 per year (best value — about US$1.67 a month). Using TouchNow on the same Wi-Fi never requires this subscription.
Which systems are supported? What are the requirements?
The iPhone/iPad controller requires iOS 15 or later. The Mac you want to control needs macOS 13 or later, on both Apple Silicon and Intel; TouchNow Host is a free download from touchmac.app and is not on the Mac App Store.
With lots of people using it, won't your servers get expensive? Is my screen safe?
On the same Wi-Fi, streaming is a direct peer-to-peer (P2P) connection: screen and control data travel directly between your own devices and pass through no server — which is exactly why the local network can be free forever. For cross-network Remote Access, the signaling server relays only the small connection-setup messages (it never touches any screen content) and NAT traversal uses free public STUN; if a direct link can't be established, the stream falls back to a relay that cannot decrypt it. All screen and input data is end-to-end encrypted — we cannot access it and never store it.
Setup & pairing
Which macOS permissions are needed, and why?
Two: "Screen Recording" captures the display to stream to your device, and "Accessibility" injects your touch and keyboard input into the Mac. Both are enabled in System Settings → Privacy & Security, and the app detects their status automatically. Without Accessibility you can still view without controlling. One tip: after enabling Screen Recording for the first time, macOS may require fully quitting and relaunching the app for it to take effect.
Check in order: ① both devices are on the same Wi-Fi (guest networks usually isolate devices — switch to the main network); ② on the iPhone, Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network allows TouchNow; ③ on the Mac, System Settings → Network → Firewall allows "TouchNow" to accept incoming connections; ④ if your router has AP Isolation enabled, turn it off.
The Mac isn't nearby (e.g. helping family far away) — how does my iPhone pair?
No QR scan needed: have them open TouchNow Host on their Mac → "Pairing & Security" → "Pair New Device" → "Copy Encrypted Pairing Code", send you that code in a message, and read you the 6-digit PIN on their screen. On your iPhone's scan page, tap "Mac not nearby? Enter a pairing code" and paste it. The code expires in 10 minutes, and anyone who intercepts the code without knowing the PIN cannot pair.
Will I know when my Mac is being controlled while I'm sitting at it?
Always. While being controlled, a red banner stays at the top of the Mac's screen reading "(device name) is controlling this Mac", visible on every desktop and over full-screen apps. Only you at the computer can press its "Disconnect" button — remote clicks can't reach it, and the banner never appears in the stream at all. In addition, the connection history records who connected, when each session started, and how long it lasted.
In the shared Mac's "Pairing & Security" list, select the device and revoke it; if it is currently connected, it is disconnected immediately. That device must pair again before it can reconnect. The "Connection History" next to it also shows when each device connected and for how long.
How much latency is there? Is it enough for games?
On the same Wi-Fi, network round-trip time (RTT) is usually in the single-digit milliseconds, streaming at 50–60 fps; the playback buffer adapts between 0–30 ms — near zero on a clean network, growing only when jitter appears. Action, platformer, and indie games feel fluid; for frame-critical competitive play, we recommend a physical controller and 5 GHz Wi-Fi. Turn on "Performance Info" in the app to see the measured numbers for yourself.
① Use 5 GHz Wi-Fi and stay close to the router; ② wired Ethernet on the Mac works best; ③ turn off AirDrop receiving and Handoff on the Mac (AirDrop's wireless direct-link radio briefly leaves the Wi-Fi channel every second, causing periodic stutter — we pinpointed this from thousands of measured packets); ④ choose the "Smooth" quality mode.
Same Wi-Fi: never — it's a direct peer-to-peer (P2P) connection, and data never leaves your router. Cross-network Remote Access: it goes peer-to-peer whenever it can, with the signaling server relaying only the small connection-setup messages (never touching any screen content) and free public STUN assisting NAT traversal; when a direct link can't be established, the stream is relayed through our server, which cannot decrypt it. Everything is end-to-end encrypted the whole way — we cannot access it and never store it.
In Game mode, tap "⋯" at the top right → "Edit Button Layout". Add any number of buttons and sticks, drag them into position, and resize with a slider; tap "Set Keys" on any button to bind a multi-key combo (e.g. Shift+Z); each stick's four directions can be bound separately — a stick defaults to the arrow keys, and a second stick you add defaults to WASD, both editable.
Yes. Any controller your iPhone recognizes (Xbox, PlayStation, MFi) takes over automatically once connected, and the virtual controller hides itself. The A/B/X/Y key mappings can be customized in settings, with combo keys supported as well.
Yes. Connect a Bluetooth mouse to your iPhone/iPad and it drives the Mac cursor directly, with adjustable pointer speed; for FPS games we recommend pairing it with Game mode.
The app retries automatically up to five times and shows progress; once Wi-Fi recovers it reconnects, and no input movement from the outage is lost. Going back to the Home Screen switches the stream into Picture in Picture (PiP) so playback continues, and the lock screen shows a live connection card (Live Activity); if PiP gets closed, reopening the app within five minutes reconnects automatically.
This means the Mac no longer recognizes the current pairing (usually because it was revoked or reset on the shared side). Generate a new pairing on the shared Mac (QR or encrypted pairing code) and pair once more.
Only one device may control the Mac at a time. Connecting from another device you have paired takes over, and the original device's session ends — so you can rescue a stuck connection while you're away. If you don't want a device to be able to take over, revoke its pairing.
Swipe left on it in your paired list and choose "Wake" (Wake-on-LAN), then connect. Prerequisite: "Wake for network access" is enabled in the Mac's System Settings → Battery/Energy; it's most reliable when plugged in or on wired Ethernet.
Type directly with the iOS keyboard on your iPhone (Chinese input methods included) and the text arrives on the Mac intact — TouchNow manages the Mac-side input method state automatically, so Sucheng / Cangjie / Zhuyin users won't get garbled output.
The iOS keyboard can't send Esc, ⌘ or arrow keys. What do I do?
Turn on the MacBook keyboard in TouchNow's Settings. It's a full MacBook layout — Esc, F1–F12, arrow keys, ⌘⌥⌃⇧ combinations and caps lock all get through, none of which the iOS keyboard can send. Modifiers are sticky: tap one and it lights up, tap the next key and it releases, so ⌘Q and ⌘Tab work one-handed. Double-tap to lock a modifier for repeated use.
