PanicLock
Security and privacy
biometric lock control for macOS
SHOW HN2026
How HN took it
11 positive, 26 neutral or asking, 0 mixed, 10 critical, out of 47 comments about the project. Thread score +0.04.
Privacy: 3 for, 6 againstIdea: 6 for, 2 againstDocs: 0 for, 2 againstExecution: 1 for, 0 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Good idea and useful for privacy against compelled biometric unlock
From 3 comments
This is great. I see many times "security advice" against biometrics replacing password unlock, but most of the time I am more worried about getting recorded by…
freehorse on HNThis should be an OS X feature, it's just that good. Great work, congrats!
moralestapia on HNHonestly I’m surprised this wasn’t already a feature in macOS. Thank you for coding it and publishing as open-source!
orthogonal_cube on HN
Apple should have built this into macOS
From 3 comments
This should be an OS X feature, it's just that good. Great work, congrats!
moralestapia on HNThis is dope OP, well done. Terrific solution on something that Apple clearly missed.
onchainintel on HNHonestly I’m surprised this wasn’t already a feature in macOS. Thank you for coding it and publishing as open-source!
orthogonal_cube on HN
Objections
Full-disk encryption and shutdown matter more; drive stays unlocked while logged in
From 3 comments
How beneficial is this versus just being theater? The example used in this is the government accessing the reporters laptop via biometrics. But in this case, and especially under…
armadyl on HNIf this were a concern for me the better choice is shutting down the laptop to encrypt the drive and disable biometrics. This does nothing since the drive is still unencrypted.
october8140 on HN> in sensitive situations, law enforcement and border agents in many countries can compel a biometric unlock in ways they cannot with a password. If the threat model includes…
surround on HN
Legal claims in the README are overstated or inaccurate
From 2 comments
> No command injection — Timeout parameter is a Swift Int, not a string Please don't use slop machines to write READMEs. If you're launching bioutil as a subprocess, you're…
Kwpolska on HN>That’s not just one leak investigation—it’s access to a reporter’s complete source network, enabled by biometric convenience features. Really nice to see that everything is AI…
squibonpig on HN
Requests
Hibernate or lock option that keeps session while clearing sensitive data
From 1 comment
> in sensitive situations, law enforcement and border agents in many countries can compel a biometric unlock in ways they cannot with a password. If the threat model includes…
surround on HN
Use a different finger to trigger the panic account or password-only mode
From 2 comments
Can you get TouchID to register multiple fingers and script the actions; maybe your middle finger unlocks touchID, but your index finger disables touchID until you enter your…
VectorLock on HNCan you intentionally use the wrong finger so that it will force to enter password
mrheosuper on HN
Questions
Does disabling Touch ID race against sleep on Apple Silicon?
From 1 comment
What's the timing like between the lid sensor firing and sleep actually kicking in on Apple Silicon? I ship a couple menu bar apps on M2 and listening for…
saadn92 on HN
What is the rationale for the project?
From 1 comment
What's the rationale? It should be described in the README.md IMO
p0w3n3d on HN
Alternatives named
bioutil one-liner from the command line
From 1 comment
Great idea and implementation! If you are hesitant to install this for any reason, you can accomplish the same thing with this one liner: ``` sudo bioutil -ws -u 0; sleep 1; sudo…
quicklywilliam on HN
iOS side button plus volume to force passcode
From 2 comments
The iOS equivalent is to hold the side + volume button until the power slider shows up. Cancel out of it and the next unlock will require your passcode. Pressing the side button…
momentmaker on HNPSA to iOS users: if you tap the lock button 5x it forces password-only unlocking. Useful at protests or any precarious situations with law enforcement.
Forgeties79 on HN