Questions & answers

Kite lets you control your Mac from your iPhone: open apps, see your screen live, move the pointer, click, scroll and type. It works on the same Wi-Fi and from anywhere else, including cellular.

Yes — Kite for iPhone is an app. You sign in there, and it’s where you control your Mac. Check App Store availability.

Tap “Try a demo” on the iPhone app’s first screen to explore Kite with a pretend Mac. No account, subscription or real Mac needed. The demo doesn’t connect to a computer, and its camera scene is just a sample — sound and Talk aren’t available.

Kite for Mac is free. Kite for iPhone is US$1.49 a month, US$15 a year, or US$35 once for Lifetime, through the App Store. If you have an offer code, tap “Have a code?” to redeem it. Monthly and yearly plans renew until you cancel in your iPhone’s Settings → your name → Subscriptions.

No. Everything between your phone and your Mac always travels through Kite’s servers, even on the same Wi-Fi. It’s end-to-end encrypted, so we only pass along scrambled data that we have no way to read.

Adding a phone always needs your Mac’s Kite password and your approval on the Mac, even on your home Wi-Fi. When you approve, both screens show a six-digit code — only allow it if they match. You can remove any phone from Kite’s menu bar at any time, and it’s disconnected immediately.

On your Mac, open Kite from the menu bar and remove that phone. It loses access immediately. Adding it again needs your Mac’s Kite password and your approval on the Mac, wherever the phone is.

Yes. See the room through your Mac’s camera, hear it through its microphone and talk through its speakers. The home camera is off until you switch it on in Kite on your Mac, and only phones you approve can use it. It’s live, end-to-end encrypted and never recorded. It stops when you leave the Camera tab.

Yes. Tap Unlock Mac on your phone: Kite wakes your Mac’s screen and types your Mac password for you. You type that password into Kite once; it’s kept only on your iPhone, behind Face ID or your passcode, and never stored on Kite’s servers, in iCloud or on your Mac. Kite asks for Face ID (or your passcode) every time, and your Mac only types it when its lock screen is showing, so it can never end up in an open document. Because of Face ID, Unlock Mac works from inside the app or from Kite’s Unlock Mac widget (turn on “Unlock without opening Kite” in the Widgets tab), not from Siri or Control Center.

Yes. Screen off turns the display dark while your Mac stays awake and reachable; Unlock Mac brings it back. Sleep Mac puts the whole Mac to sleep. A sleeping Mac is offline, so your phone may not be able to reach it again until someone wakes it — use Screen off if you want to come back later.

Accessibility lets Kite move the pointer, click and type for you. Screen Recording lets it show your screen on your phone. Opening apps works without either.

Yes, and awake with Kite open. Kite keeps your Mac awake while it’s plugged in (or on battery too, if you switch off “Only while plugged in” in Kite’s window); the screen can still turn off on its own, which is fine, and it wakes when you open the Screen tab. Closing a laptop’s lid puts it to sleep unless you turn on “Stay reachable with the lid closed” in Kite’s settings, which works while it’s plugged into a charger or a USB-C power bank. On battery alone, macOS always puts a closed laptop to sleep.

Only while it’s plugged into a charger or a USB-C power bank, with “Stay reachable with the lid closed” switched on in Kite on your Mac. On battery alone, macOS always puts a MacBook to sleep when its lid closes, and no app can stop that — a sleeping Mac can’t answer your phone. With the lid open, Kite keeps it awake on battery too.

Open Kite on your Mac. In Kite on your iPhone, tap Add a Mac, then either scan the QR code your Mac shows or type its 9-digit Kite ID, and enter your Mac’s Kite password. Your Mac then shows a six-digit code: if it matches your phone, click Allow. You can also scan the QR code with your iPhone’s Camera app; it opens Kite with the ID filled in.

Yes. When your Mac has more than one screen, the Screen tab shows a screen button in the top-left corner; tap it to switch. Your Mac remembers the one you picked.

Your Mac needs Accessibility turned on for Kite. The Screen tab tells you when it’s off: open Kite on your Mac and follow its steps (System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility). If something still isn’t right, tap Report a problem in the app’s Settings.

Kite reconnects by itself. If your phone switches between Wi-Fi and cellular, or you leave the app for a moment, you’ll see “Reconnecting…” for a few seconds and then carry on where you were. If your Mac can’t be reached for about 30 seconds (it went to sleep, lost its internet, or Kite was closed), Kite tells you and you can try again.

In the Screen tab, tap Keyboard: type in the box and it goes straight to your Mac, with keys like esc, tab, ⌘ and the arrows above the keyboard (tap ⌘, then a letter, for shortcuts like ⌘C). Tap Trackpad for a trackpad that works like a Mac’s: slide to move, tap to click, tap twice to double-click, tap then slide to drag, two fingers to scroll (flick and it keeps gliding) or right-click, pinch to zoom, and three-finger swipes for Mission Control and your desktops. You can also tap right on your Mac’s screen to click there. Turn your phone sideways for a bigger screen.

Yes. In the Screen tab, tap Sound to hear whatever your Mac is playing — videos, music, alerts. It keeps playing on the Mac too, and Kite remembers your choice. Sound only plays while the Screen tab is open, and nothing is sent while your Mac is silent. Playing sound uses about 40 MB an hour on top of the picture. It’s end-to-end encrypted like everything else and never recorded.

In the Screen tab, tap Apps. Your Mac’s open apps are listed with the one you used most recently first. Tap one to bring it to the front, or press and hold to quit it — Kite asks first, and your Mac still asks about unsaved work.

Yes. In the Screen tab, tap More: Paste on Mac pastes what you copied on your phone straight into the app open on your Mac, Copy to Mac just puts it on your Mac’s clipboard, and Copy from Mac brings your Mac’s clipboard to your phone (only while you’re watching its screen). Files sends photos, videos and files (several at once) to Downloads › Kite on your Mac, and lets you get files from its Desktop, Documents and Downloads. Files can be up to 2 GB, are end-to-end encrypted, and are checked to arrive whole.

It blacks out your Mac’s screen for anyone sitting at it, while you keep seeing and using it from your phone. It’s off until you turn on Allow Curtain Mode in Kite on your Mac. Pressing Esc three times on the Mac always brings the screen back, and so does locking the Mac or closing Kite on your phone.

Yes. Kite for iPhone also runs on iPad, with the same purchase. On an iPad the Screen tab has a Full screen button, and a keyboard, mouse or trackpad works with your Mac directly.

Yes. Pair a Bluetooth keyboard with your iPhone or iPad and type straight onto your Mac on the Screen tab, shortcuts like ⌘C included. On an iPad, a mouse or trackpad moves your Mac’s pointer directly, with right-click and scrolling. iPadOS keeps a few shortcuts for itself (⌘Tab, ⌘Space, ⌘H); those are in the More menu instead.

No. Updates keep everything: your account, your Macs, your shortcuts and your purchase. You stay signed in on your iPhone as long as you open Kite at least once a month.

Kite updates itself. It checks for new versions every few hours and installs them while no phone is connected. You can turn this off, or check right away, in Kite’s Settings under Updates. Every update is checked to make sure it really comes from Kite before it’s installed.

Choose “Uninstall Kite…” in Kite’s menu. It also removes the helper used to keep your Mac awake with the lid closed. If you already deleted the app, reinstall Kite and then use “Uninstall Kite…” to finish removing it.

Any Mac running macOS 13 Ventura or later, with Apple silicon or Intel.

Not yet. Kite is an iPhone and iPad app. An Android version may come later.

Email support@kiteremote.com. Include what kind of Mac and phone you have, and what happened, and we’ll get back to you.