Same Wi‑Fi
Works out of the box at home or work. Your Mac can be on Wi‑Fi or Ethernet. No extra app needed.
Setup guide
Set up Takealong, then take it anywhere.
Ten minutes at your Mac, once. After that you can open your Mac’s apps from your iPhone or iPad wherever you are.
1Set up
You need an Apple silicon Mac on macOS 15 or later, and an iPhone or iPad on iOS 18 or later.
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Install the free Mac companion
Download it for Mac, move it to Applications and open it. Takealong lives in your menu bar as a small kite.
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Install Takealong on your iPhone or iPad
Get it from the App Store. Every feature is free for your first seven days.
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Pair them
On the Mac, choose Pair Device to show a code. On your phone, tap Add a Mac, then tap your Mac under Nearby Macs or Scan Pairing Code. Approve the phone on your Mac the first time. After that they remember each other: no more codes.
Not near your Mac? Use Copy invitation instead on the Mac and Paste it on your phone.
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Choose your Mac
Your paired Macs appear under Your Macs. Tap one to connect. On the Mac, Ready to connect means it’s waiting for you.
2Mac permissions
macOS asks you to allow these once, in System Settings → Privacy & Security. The Mac app walks you through each one.
- Screen Recording Required
- Shows your Mac windows on your device.
- Accessibility Required
- Lets you click, scroll and type from your device. Without it, devices can watch but not control.
- Local Network Required at home
- Lets your phone find your Mac on the same Wi‑Fi.
- Open at login Optional
- Starts Takealong when you sign in, so it’s ready after a restart.
- Files folder Optional
- Incoming files go to the Takealong Inbox unless you choose another folder.
- Terminal Optional
- Run commands on this Mac from a paired device. Off until you turn it on.
Change it later in Takealong Settings
Open the kite in the menu bar and choose Settings. Setup shows what’s ready at a glance.
3At home or away
Away, with Tailscale Recommended
A free app for personal use that links your devices privately.
- Install Tailscale on your Mac and your phone, and sign in to the same account on both.
- Pair Takealong as usual. It finds your Mac’s Tailscale address by itself.
- Away from home, just tap your Mac. Tailscale’s VPN on demand can switch on as you connect.
Your own VPN
Already have a VPN to your home or work network? On your phone, open the Mac’s Connection Details → Add Address. Takealong checks the address reaches the same Mac before saving it.
Takealong doesn’t host computers or pass your screen through its servers. Your screen and controls travel between your own paired devices, encrypted.
4Using Takealong
Open an app or a window
Pick from your recent apps, open windows or All Apps. Continue in… takes you back to what you had open last. Use Search apps to find anything else.
Pocket View
Supported windows resize to fit your phone. Swipe in from the edge for a one-handed scroll control; drag it, and it slides away when you’re done. Prefer your left thumb? There’s a left-handed option in Settings.
Keyboard and pointer
Tap Keyboard to type. The row above it has Esc, Tab, ⌘, Ctrl, Option and arrows. Pointer switches between Direct Touch and Trackpad. On iPad, a Bluetooth keyboard and trackpad work too.
Files
From the ⋯ menu, choose Files. Get from Mac browses folders you’ve shared; pick a file and tap Get File. Send to Mac drops a photo or file into the Takealong Inbox on your Mac.
Terminal
Turn on Terminal in the Mac app first. Then choose Terminal from the ⋯ menu for a real shell on your Mac, without streaming the screen. Face ID or Touch ID confirms it’s you.
Activity
See what’s running on your Mac, with CPU and memory, and quit what’s stuck. Force Quit is there too, but unsaved changes may be lost.
5When your Mac is locked
If your Mac locks or restarts to the login screen, use Recovery Mode from Your Macs to sign in remotely, then carry on.
- Turn on Screen Sharing on the Mac: System Settings → General → Sharing.
- Recovery Mode needs Tailscale on both devices.
- On the Mac, Settings → Setup → Recovery Mode shows On when Screen Sharing responds. Test sign-in from your phone before you leave.
- You can save the Mac password on your phone, unlocked with Face ID or Touch ID.
- Turn on Open at login, so Takealong is back as soon as you sign in.
6Troubleshooting
My phone can’t find my Mac
Check the Mac is awake, online and running Takealong (the kite is in the menu bar). At home, make sure both are on the same network and Local Network is allowed. Away, make sure Tailscale is connected on both.
I can see my Mac but can’t click or type
Accessibility isn’t allowed yet. On the Mac, open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and switch on Takealong.
Windows are blank or don’t appear
Allow Screen Recording for Takealong in System Settings → Privacy & Security, then reopen the Mac app.
It works at home but not away
Install Tailscale on both devices and sign in to the same account, or add your Mac’s VPN address. Keep the Mac powered and connected while you’re out.
An AI “computer use” tool is covering my Mac
Tools that operate your Mac for you can put a full-screen cover over it while they work. The common one is ChatGPT/Codex Locked use (“ChatGPT is Using Your Mac — Press any key or click to unlock”). It often ignores remote clicks and keys, from Takealong and from other remote apps alike. It’s a known issue on OpenAI’s side, not something Takealong can lift on its own.
- Stop the task where it started. If you set up remote control in the ChatGPT app on your phone, stop the task there and give the cover a few seconds to clear.
- Quit the app without the screen. Use Activity to quit ChatGPT, or, with Terminal turned on, run
osascript -e 'quit app "ChatGPT"'. Neither needs to see the screen. Quitting stops its tasks. - Try a key through Recovery Mode. Recovery Mode uses Apple’s Screen Sharing, so you can at least see the cover. Send Return or Esc from More → Keys. It sometimes works, but many people report the cover ignores remote input.
- Claude computer use stops when you press Esc.
To prevent it: stop computer-use tasks before you leave your Mac, or turn off Locked use in ChatGPT → Settings → Computer Use if you rely on reaching your Mac remotely.
The Mac says it’s locked
Use Recovery Mode (above) to sign in, or unlock it in person. Turning on Open at login brings Takealong back after a restart.
Files aren’t showing in Get from Mac
Only folders you’ve shared appear. Choose them under Shared folders in the Mac app.
Still stuck?
Email support@takealong.app and tell me what you see. Screenshots help. Mac updates arrive through the app; you can also choose “Check for Updates” from the menu bar kite.