Vigil monitors camera and microphone hardware access in real time, displaying colored status indicators in the macOS menu bar to show when either device is active and which application is responsible. The app addresses a privacy concern that macOS’s native recording indicators — the orange and green dots — do not resolve: identifying the specific app behind active hardware access. (Free)
The menu bar icon changes color to reflect current hardware state: separate indicators for camera activity, microphone activity, or both simultaneously. When an app begins accessing the camera or microphone, Vigil resolves the process name and icon, including Electron helper processes that would otherwise appear as generic system entries. Optional local notifications alert the user when new hardware access begins, providing an audit trail of which applications have requested access during a session. A configurable event history retains recent access records for review.
Vigil runs entirely offline. No telemetry is collected, no data is transmitted to external servers, and all detection and history remain local to the device. The app is built with native SwiftUI and runs on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs with minimal resource usage.
System requirements: Modern macOS required; supports both Apple Silicon and Intel architectures. No special permissions beyond standard macOS process monitoring.
Pricing: (Free)
Limitations: Vigil detects hardware-level access events and depends on macOS APIs for process identification; apps that route audio or video through virtual devices may not be attributed correctly. The app does not block access — it monitors and reports only.
Alternatives: OverSight by Objective-See (free, open-source) provides similar camera and microphone monitoring with alert notifications. Micro Snitch by Objective Development (paid) offers comparable functionality with a subscription model. macOS 12 and later include native orange and green menu bar indicators for active microphone and camera use, though without app-level attribution.
Suitable for users who want to know exactly which application is accessing their camera or microphone at any moment, particularly in environments where multiple communication apps run simultaneously.
