Here is how to set up each one, what it is good at, and where it falls short.

#Way 1: Full Keyboard Access

Full Keyboard Access highlights the item that has focus and lets you move around and press things with the keyboard alone.

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Accessibility in the sidebar.
2. Under Motor, click Keyboard.
3. Turn on Full Keyboard Access.

The keys, from Apple's Full Keyboard Access guide:

If you only want Tab to reach every button, not the whole Full Keyboard Access set, there is a lighter switch: System Settings > Keyboard, then turn on Keyboard navigation.

What it can't do: Tab visits controls one at a time, in order, so a button in the middle of a busy toolbar can take many presses. It can't click a spot that isn't a control, like a point on a photo or a design canvas, and it can't drag.

#Clicking links in Safari

By default, Tab on a web page jumps between fields and pop-up menus and skips links. Apple's Safari shortcuts list Option-Tab for the next field, pop-up menu or clickable item, such as a link. To make plain Tab reach links too, open Safari > Settings > Advanced and turn on Press Tab to highlight each item on a webpage. Press Return to follow the highlighted link.

#Way 2: Mouse Keys

Mouse Keys turns part of the keyboard into a pointer, so it reaches things Full Keyboard Access can't.

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Accessibility.
2. Click Pointer Control.
3. Turn on Mouse Keys.

The keys, from Apple's Mouse Keys guide:

What it can't do: in Apple's words, "When Mouse Keys is on, you can't use the keyboard or numeric keypad to enter text." So you switch it off every time you need to type. The pointer also moves in steps, and crossing a large screen takes a while.

#Way 3: Voice Control

If you would rather speak, Voice Control can put a number or a name on every item on screen and click it for you.

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Accessibility.
2. Click Voice Control and turn it on.

Apple's Voice Control setup page notes that the first time, your Mac must be connected to the internet for a one-time download from Apple. After that, it works offline.

Then, from Apple's list of Voice Control commands:

• Say "Show numbers" or "Show names" to label the items on screen.
• Say "Click" followed by a number or name to press it. Saying the number on its own works too.
• Say "Show grid" for a numbered grid over the whole screen, or "Show window grid" for the front window, to reach places that aren't buttons.
• Say "Hide numbers", "Hide names" or "Hide grid" to put them away.

What it can't do: it needs you to talk for every click, which is slow over a full workday and awkward in a shared office or on a call.

#Which built-in way to use

• Your trackpad stopped working today: Full Keyboard Access for buttons and menus, plus Mouse Keys for the odd spot that needs a pointer.
• You'd rather not type or can't: Voice Control.
• You want to stay on the keyboard all day: the built-ins work, but the Tab order and the typing lock add up. That is the gap the next section is about.

#The faster way: No Mouse Mode

No Mouse Mode is a menu bar app that lets you click anything on screen by typing two letters. Press ⇧⌘Space and every button, link, tab, menu and Dock icon gets a small label. Type the letters and it's clicked, in any app. Hold ⇧, ⌘ or ⌥ with the last letter to right-click, open in a new tab or double-click.

It covers the places the built-ins struggle:

• Type to click. Press ⇧⌘/, type a few letters of a button's name and press Return. First letters work, so "dd" finds Desktop & Dock.
• A pointer that doesn't lock your keyboard. Press ⇧⌘M and W A S D glide the pointer. Space clicks, holding it drags, and Return right-clicks. Shortcuts with ⌘, ⌃ or ⌥ still reach your app, and clicking into a text box switches it off so you can type.
• A jump grid. Press E and a 3×3 grid covers the screen and zooms in with each key, so two or three presses reach any point, even in games or design canvases where labels can't.
• Scroll areas. ⇧⌘J numbers every scrollable pane, so you can scroll the one you mean.

Labels work in apps that describe their buttons to macOS, which covers Finder, Safari, Chrome, Mail, System Settings and most Mac apps. For the few that don't, you can turn on reading on-screen text, which uses Apple's text recognition on your Mac. It needs macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon or Intel and the Accessibility permission. Keystrokes are never stored or sent. It's a one-time purchase from $19.99 for one Mac, and setup ends with nine short hands-on lessons.

#FAQ

#How do I click on a Mac without a mouse?

Turn on Full Keyboard Access in System Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard (under Motor), then press Tab to move to a button and Space to click it. For spots that aren't buttons, Mouse Keys in Accessibility > Pointer Control lets you move the pointer with the number keys and click with I.

#How do I right-click on a Mac with only the keyboard?

The built-in tools above don't make it easy. With an app like No Mouse Mode, hold ⇧ as you type a label's last letter, or press Return while steering the pointer with W A S D.

#Why can't I type when Mouse Keys is on?

Mouse Keys takes over the letter and number keys it uses to move the pointer, so Apple notes you can't enter text while it's on. Turn it off in System Settings > Accessibility > Pointer Control before typing.

#Can I click links in Safari with the keyboard?

Yes. Press Option-Tab to move to the next link, or turn on "Press Tab to highlight each item on a webpage" in Safari > Settings > Advanced so plain Tab reaches links. Press Return to open the highlighted one.

#Does Voice Control need the internet?

Only the first time you turn it on, for a one-time download from Apple. After that, Voice Control works without an internet connection.

Here is how each way works and where it falls short.

#Why email links open Apple Mail

When you click an email address on a web page or in an app, macOS looks up which app handles mailto: links and gives the link to it. Out of the box that's Mail, so Mail opens and asks you to set up an account, even if you never use it.

There is no Gmail entry in that list, because Gmail lives in your browser. So the job has two halves: get the link to your browser, then get the browser to hand it to Gmail.

#Way 1: Let Gmail handle email links in Chrome

Chrome lets a website register itself as the handler for a kind of link. Gmail does this for email links.

1. Open Gmail in Chrome and sign in.
2. Look at the right end of the address bar for the handler icon, which looks like two overlapping diamonds.
3. Click it, choose to allow Gmail to open email links, and click Done.

If you don't see the icon, open Chrome's Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Protocol handlers (you can also type chrome://settings/handlers in the address bar) and make sure sites are allowed to ask. Google lists this permission on its page about site settings in Chrome.

What it can't do: this only covers email links you click on web pages inside Chrome. Links in other apps still go to Mail. The setting also belongs to one Chrome profile, so each profile that should use Gmail needs it set separately.

#Way 2: Make Chrome the default email reader

To catch email links from other apps too, tell macOS to send them to Chrome. Oddly, the setting lives in the Mail app, not in System Settings. Apple's steps, from Change the default web browser or email app on Mac:

1. Open the Mail app. It must be set up with an email account first. If it isn't, Mail won't let you change this setting, so add any account; Apple notes you can remove or turn it off again afterwards.
2. In the menu bar, choose Mail > Settings.
3. Click General.
4. Open the Default email reader pop-up menu and choose Google Chrome. If it isn't listed, choose Select and pick Chrome in the file dialog.

What it can't do: Apple warns that a browser chosen here might not open webmail automatically when you click email links. You also don't get to choose where the link goes. If you have more than one Chrome profile, or more than one Google account, the email opens wherever Chrome decides, which may not be the address you meant to write from. And setting it up means adding an account to Mail, an app you are trying not to use.

#What about Safari?

Safari has no setting for letting a website like Gmail handle email links. If Safari is your browser, the Mail setting above can still point email links at another app, but there is no built-in way to send them to Gmail in Safari.

#The faster way: LinkRouter

LinkRouter is a small Mac app we make for exactly this. It becomes the app that handles email links, without going through Mail's settings and without needing a Mail account: open LinkRouter's settings and click Use LinkRouter for Email Links.

From then on, clicking an email link shows a small picker at your mouse:

• Every Google account, from every Chrome profile. LinkRouter reads which accounts are signed in to each profile, including Google Workspace accounts and profiles with more than one account signed in.
• Pick one with a number key and Gmail compose opens in the Chrome profile that owns that account, with the To, Cc, Bcc, subject and body from the link already filled in.
• It won't send from the wrong address. If the account you picked is no longer signed in to that profile, Gmail would quietly write from another account, so LinkRouter asks you again instead of opening it.
• Rules by recipient. Hold ⌘ while you pick, or add a rule in settings, so that mail to @northwind.co always composes from your work account.
• Mail apps stay available. Apple Mail and other mail apps are in the picker too, and ⌘C just copies the address.

It costs $5 for 1 Mac, $10 for 3 Macs or $15 for 5 Macs, paid once. The same picker also handles web links; see how to open links in a specific Chrome profile on Mac.

#FAQ

#Can I set Gmail as the default email app on Mac?

Not directly, because Gmail is a website. You can set Chrome as the default email reader in Mail's settings and let Gmail handle email links in Chrome, or use an app such as LinkRouter that opens Gmail compose for you.

#Why is "Default email reader" greyed out or missing in Mail?

Mail only lets you change it once Mail is set up with an email account. Add any account, change the setting, then remove or turn off the account if you don't want it in Mail.

#Why do email links open Gmail with the wrong account?

Gmail composes from an account signed in to the Chrome profile the link landed in. If the link opened in the wrong profile, or that profile has several accounts, you get whichever one Gmail picks. LinkRouter avoids this by opening compose in the profile that owns the account you chose.

#Do I need Apple Mail set up to use LinkRouter for email links?

No. LinkRouter makes itself the handler for email links directly, so Mail doesn't need an account.

#Does this work with Google Workspace accounts?

Yes. Workspace accounts have a Gmail inbox, and LinkRouter lists them next to personal Gmail accounts in the picker.

Below are the manual ways first, with what each one can and can't do.

#Why Chrome picks the profile it does

Every Chrome profile is a folder in ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome. The first one is called Default and the rest are Profile 1, Profile 2 and so on. The names you see in Chrome, like "Work" or "Personal", are only labels stored in a file called Local State next to those folders.

When another app hands Chrome a link, macOS doesn't say anything about profiles. It just gives Chrome the address, and Chrome sends it to the profile you were last using. If you switched to your personal profile to check something five minutes ago, the next work link from Slack lands there too.

#Way 1: Drag or paste the link into the right window

The simplest fix needs no setup.

1. Bring up a Chrome window that belongs to the profile you want. Each window shows its profile picture or name at the top right of the toolbar.
2. Drag the link from the other app onto that window's tab bar, or right-click the link, copy it, and paste it into a new tab in that window.

What it can't do: it is manual every time, and you need a window of that profile open already. A normal click still goes to the last-used profile.

#Way 2: Open the link from Terminal

Chrome has a command-line switch, --profile-directory, that names the profile folder to open a link in. On a Mac you pass it through the open command.

#Step 1: Find the profile's folder name

The folder name is not the name you gave the profile, so look it up first.

1. Open Chrome in the profile you want.
2. Type chrome://version in the address bar and press Return.
3. Find the line called Profile Path. The last part of that path is the folder name, for example Profile 3.

If you have several profiles, you can list every folder next to its display name in one go. This reads Chrome's Local State file and changes nothing:

python3 -c 'import json,os; c=json.load(open(os.path.expanduser("~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Local State")))["profile"]["info_cache"]; [print(d, "=", v["name"]) for d,v in c.items()]'

Each line looks like Profile 3 = Work. If your Mac has never used python3, macOS offers to install the Command Line Tools first. Don't be surprised by gaps in the numbers: when you delete a profile, its number isn't reused.

#Step 2: Open the link in that profile

open -na "Google Chrome" --args --profile-directory="Profile 3" "https://example.com"

What each part does:

• -n starts a new copy of Chrome even if Chrome is already running. That short-lived copy passes the link to your running Chrome and quits, so you don't end up with two Chromes.
• -a "Google Chrome" picks the app.
• --args hands everything after it to Chrome itself.
• --profile-directory="Profile 3" is the folder from step 1. Keep the quotes, because the name has a space.
• The link goes last.

Two things to watch for, both of which we ran into while testing:

• A typo creates a new profile. If the folder you name doesn't exist, Chrome doesn't complain. It quietly makes a brand-new, empty profile and opens the link there. Copy the folder name exactly.
• Don't put -- before the link. Some command-line habits add -- to mean "end of options". Chrome drops anything that comes after it, so the link never opens.

To save typing, add a small function to your ~/.zshrc:

work() { open -na "Google Chrome" --args --profile-directory="Profile 3" "$@"; }

Open a new Terminal window and work https://example.com opens the link in that profile.

What it can't do: it only works for links you paste into Terminal. Clicking a link in Slack or Mail still sends it to the last-used profile, because macOS gives links to the default browser, not to your shell.

#Brave, Edge and other Chromium browsers

Brave, Microsoft Edge and Vivaldi are built on Chromium and use the same --profile-directory switch. Only the app name and the folder change. For Brave, the profiles live in ~/Library/Application Support/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser, so the command becomes:

open -na "Brave Browser" --args --profile-directory="Profile 1" "https://example.com"

#The faster way: LinkRouter

LinkRouter is a small Mac app we make that does the profile choice for every link you click, not only the ones you type. You make it your default browser once, and from then on any link from any app shows a tiny picker right at your mouse with every browser and every Chrome profile on your Mac, each with its picture and name.

• Press a number key to open the link in that row, or type a few letters to filter. Esc closes the picker.
• Hold ⇧ while you pick to open it in a private window.
• Hold ⌘ while you pick and LinkRouter saves a rule, so that site always opens in that profile without asking. Rules can also go by app, so links from Slack can always open in your work profile.
• Hold ⌥ while clicking a link to get the picker back for a site that already has a rule.
• Opened it in the wrong place anyway? Press ⌃⌥B to bounce the tab to another profile.

LinkRouter reads your profiles from Chrome's own files each time they change and only ever opens a profile folder that still exists, so a deleted profile never turns into a surprise empty one. It lists profiles for Chrome, Brave, Edge, Vivaldi and Firefox-family browsers like Zen, and it also cleans tracking junk out of links before they open. It runs entirely on your Mac.

It costs $5 for 1 Mac, $10 for 3 Macs or $15 for 5 Macs, paid once. It can also open email links in Gmail as the right account, which we cover in how to make email links open Gmail instead of Apple Mail.

#FAQ

#Can I set a default Chrome profile for links on Mac?

Not in Chrome itself. Links from other apps go to the profile you used last. To always use one profile, open it in that profile from Terminal with --profile-directory, or use an app like LinkRouter with a rule.

#How do I find my Chrome profile directory name?

Open Chrome in that profile, go to chrome://version, and look at Profile Path. The last part of the path, such as Default or Profile 2, is the directory name.

#Why did Chrome create a new profile when I used --profile-directory?

The folder name didn't match an existing profile. Chrome treats an unknown name as a request for a new profile and creates it silently. Check the exact name, including capitals and the space in Profile 2.

#Does --profile-directory work if Chrome is already open?

Yes. With open -n, a second copy of Chrome starts, hands the link to the Chrome that's already running, and quits. The link opens in the profile you named.

#Does this work for Safari profiles?

No. The --profile-directory switch is a Chromium feature. Safari doesn't take a profile on the command line.

Below are the four built-in ways, what each one is good at, and where each one stops.

#Why not just use a website?

Online background removers work by sending your photo to a server, running it there, and sending a cutout back. That is fine for a holiday snap. It is less fine for client work, an unreleased product, a passport photo or pictures of your kids. Every tool in this post runs on your Mac instead, so there is nothing to upload and nothing to wait for.

#Way 1: The Remove Background Quick Action in Finder

This is the quickest built-in route, and it doesn't open any app.

1. In Finder, or on the desktop, find the photo.
2. Control-click it and choose Quick Actions.
3. Choose Remove Background.

macOS saves the cutout as a new PNG next to the original, so the original file is left alone.

If Remove Background isn't in the menu, choose Quick Actions > Customize. The Extensions settings open, and you can switch Remove Background on there. Apple's guide to quick actions in the Finder covers the menu and the Customize option.

#What it can't do

• There is nothing to adjust. If it keeps a corner of the old background or trims a bit of your subject, you get what you get.
• There are no brushes for fixing a miss. You would open the new PNG in another app to touch it up.
• It works best on photos with one clear subject. Busy scenes, glass and fine hair are the hard cases.

#Way 2: Preview

Preview has the same feature, plus an undo.

1. Open the photo in Preview.
2. Click the Remove Background button.
3. If Preview asks whether to convert the document to a PNG file, click Convert.
4. If you don't like the result, choose Edit > Undo.

Watch step 3. Converting changes the file you opened. To keep the original as it was, click Cancel at that prompt, choose File > Duplicate, and remove the background from the copy. Apple's page on removing a background in Preview describes the same steps.

#What it can't do

Preview gives you one automatic result. Its Markup tools include Instant Alpha, which Apple's Markup guide describes as a way to remove the background colour from an image. It helps with a plain studio backdrop, but it works by colour, so it isn't much help with hair against a similar background.

#Way 3: Photos (Copy Subject)

Photos can lift the subject out of a picture in your library. Apple says this needs macOS Ventura or later.

1. Open the photo in Photos.
2. Control-click the photo.
3. Choose Copy Subject to put the cutout on the clipboard, or Share Subject to send it straight to Messages, Mail and so on.

As you move the pointer over Copy Subject, the background dims and the subject is outlined, so you can see what you'll get before you click. Apple's guide to isolating a photo's subject adds that the same feature works in Safari, Quick Look and Mail.

#Getting a file out of it

Copy Subject gives you a cutout on the clipboard, not a file. To save it, open Preview and choose File > New from Clipboard, then File > Export and pick PNG so the background stays transparent.

#What it can't do

• Photos decides what counts as the subject, and there's no way to pick a different one.
• There is no way to refine the edge.

#Way 4: Keynote

Keynote's tool is the only built-in one you can steer.

1. Add the photo to a slide and click it to select it.
2. In the Format sidebar, click the Image tab, then click Remove Background. Keynote removes the background automatically if it can.
3. To refine it, drag slowly over a colour to remove more of it, Option-drag to remove that colour everywhere in the image, or Shift-drag to add colour back.
4. Click Reset to start over, or Done when you're happy.

Apple's Keynote image guide has the full list of controls.

#What it can't do

The refining is colour based, so it suits flat backgrounds better than detailed ones. And the result lives on your slide. That's perfect when the slide is the goal, and a detour when you need a PNG for a shop listing.

#Which built-in way to use

• One photo, simple background: the Finder Quick Action.
• You want to undo or compare: Preview, on a duplicate.
• The photo is already in your library: Photos, then New from Clipboard in Preview.
• It's going on a slide anyway: Keynote.

All four are good for an occasional photo with a clear subject. They get harder to live with when you have forty product shots, a portrait with loose hair, or a cutout that's 95 percent right and needs a quick fix.

#The faster way: BGpeel

BGpeel is a Mac app built only for this job, and it also works without uploading anything. The model that finds the subject ships inside the app and runs on your Mac's graphics chip, so there is no server, no account and no charge per image. The only thing it sends over the internet is your license key, now and then, to check it.

Where it goes further than the built-in tools:

• Fine edges. The first cutout appears in about a second (on an M4 Pro MacBook Pro; older Macs take a little longer). On large photos BGpeel then goes back over the edges at full resolution, so single strands of hair, whiskers and bicycle spokes come back. You can choose Best, Balanced or Fast edge detail in Settings.
• Fixing a miss. Erase and Restore brushes paint away leftover background or bring back what was trimmed, with undo and redo for every stroke.
• Batches. Drag in a whole folder, and Export All saves every cutout into a folder in one go. Files are named after the original, which is never changed.
• Clean output. You get a transparent PNG at the photo's full size, with its colour profile kept. It reads JPEG, PNG, HEIC, TIFF and WebP.

BGpeel needs a Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or newer) and macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Intel Macs aren't supported.

#FAQ

#Can a Mac remove a background without the internet?

Yes. The Finder Quick Action, Preview, Photos and Keynote all remove backgrounds on your Mac, and BGpeel does too. None of them needs you to upload the photo.

#Why is Remove Background missing from my Quick Actions menu?

Control-click the image, choose Quick Actions > Customize, and switch on Remove Background in the Extensions settings that open. Quick Actions only appear for file types they support, so make sure you clicked an image.

#Does removing the background in Preview change my original photo?

It can. If you click Convert when Preview offers to turn the file into a PNG, the file you opened changes. Choose File > Duplicate first if you want to keep the original.

#How do I save a subject I copied in Photos as a file?

Open Preview and choose File > New from Clipboard, then File > Export and save it as a PNG. PNG keeps the transparent background.

#Which Macs can run BGpeel?

Any Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or newer) running macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Intel Macs aren't supported.

Below are the honest built-in options, what each can and can't do, and then the faster way.

#What macOS gives you

Open System Settings and click Sound. Apple's guide to changing sound output settings lists what you can set there:

• Output volume, for the whole Mac
• Mute
• Balance, between left and right
• Alert volume, under Sound Effects, for system alert sounds only

That is the full list. There is no row per app, and Control Center's Sound control is the same single slider. Alert volume is the closest thing to a separate level, and it only covers the beeps macOS makes.

Apple also spells out how app sliders relate to it: apps with their own volume controls can only go as high as the Mac's output volume, and they don't override what you choose in Sound settings. So every in-app slider works as a fraction of the system volume.

#Way 1: Use each app's own volume slider

Many apps that play sound have a slider of their own. Set the Mac's volume to the loudest level you want for anything, then turn the individual apps down.

#Music

1. Open Music and start playing something.
2. At the bottom of the Music window, click the Volume button and drag the slider.

Apple's Music volume guide notes that the maximum is limited by your computer's volume setting. Music can also store a volume per song (select it, choose Song > Get Info, click Options, then drag the volume slider), and Sound Check in Music > Settings > Playback evens out loud and quiet tracks.

#Streaming and video apps

Most music players, video players and web video players have a volume control in their playback bar. Turn the music app down there and leave the call app at full volume, and you have a rough mix.

#What this way can't do

• Many apps have no volume control at all: chat apps, games, system sounds from other apps, and lots of small utilities.
• Every slider lives in a different window, so changing the balance during a call means hunting for each one.
• Nothing can go louder than the system volume. A quiet video stays quiet.

#Way 2: Mute browser tabs

If the noise comes from a web page, browsers can silence it.

#Safari

Apple's guide to muting audio in tabs gives two moves:

1. To mute the tab you're viewing, click the Audio button in the Smart Search field.
2. To keep the current tab playing and mute all the others, Option-click the same button.

#Chrome

Right-click a tab and choose Mute site. This silences every tab from that website until you choose Unmute site from the same menu.

#What this way can't do

Muting is all or nothing. You can't set a tab to 40 %, and you can't change the browser's volume relative to your music app, only cut it off.

#Way 3: Audio MIDI Setup (and why it doesn't help)

Audio MIDI Setup, in Applications > Utilities, sounds like the place for this. It isn't. Apple's Audio MIDI Setup guide covers setting up audio devices, external speakers, aggregate devices and playing audio through several devices at once. Everything in it works per device, not per app. A Multi-Output Device can send the same sound to two outputs, but every app still plays through it at the same level.

#Way 4: Juggle the system volume

The last manual way is the one most people end up with: pause the music before a call, press the volume keys, and turn it back up afterwards. It works, but it's the opposite of a mix. Every change moves everything.

#The faster way: Faders

Faders adds the volume mixer macOS doesn't have. It lives in the menu bar, and every app that is making sound gets its own row with a slider, a mute button and a live meter. Levels are remembered, so Slack stays at 60 % tomorrow too.

A few things it does that the built-in ways can't:

• Apps without a slider get one. Chrome, Slack and other apps that play sound through hidden helper processes are gathered into a single row each.
• Louder than 100 %. The top of each slider is a boost zone up to 200 %, with a limiter so boosted sound doesn't crackle.
• Calls handled for you. When Zoom, Teams, Meet, FaceTime, Slack or Discord starts using the microphone, other apps fade to 30 % and come back when the call ends.
• A different output per app. Play Through sends any app to its own speakers or headphones, and moves it back to your main output if that device disappears.
• Volume keys for monitors. HDMI and DisplayPort displays usually show a crossed-out speaker when you press the volume keys. Faders adds software volume for them.

It is built on the audio taps Apple added in macOS 14.2, so it needs macOS 14.2 Sonoma or later, runs on Apple silicon and Intel, and has no driver to install. Apps you leave at 100 % are never touched, and when nothing is playing it uses 0.0 % CPU. macOS asks you to allow system audio access, a prompt that uses the word "record"; Faders only adjusts sound live, in memory, and saves or sends nothing.

One honest limit: a browser plays all of its tabs through one audio process, so Faders sets the volume of the browser as a whole, not of each tab. For a single noisy tab, use the tab mute above.

#FAQ

#Does macOS have a per-app volume mixer?

No. System Settings > Sound has one output volume for the whole Mac, plus a separate alert volume for system sounds. To set apps to different levels you use each app's own slider, or a mixer app like Faders.

#Can Audio MIDI Setup change the volume of one app?

No. Audio MIDI Setup works with devices: speakers, interfaces, aggregate and multi-output devices. Every app playing through a device shares its volume.

#How do I make one app louder than the others on Mac?

Set the Mac's volume high, then lower the other apps with their own sliders. An app can't go above the system volume on its own; to push a quiet app past 100 %, you need a tool with a boost, such as Faders.

#Can I set a different volume for each browser tab?

Not with macOS or a mixer app, because a browser plays all its tabs through one audio process. Safari and Chrome can mute tabs or sites, and many websites have their own volume slider in the player.

#Which macOS version do I need for per-app volume with Faders?

macOS 14.2 Sonoma or later, on Apple silicon or Intel. It relies on audio taps Apple introduced in macOS 14.2.

Below are the manual steps, why each one matters, and a faster way if you send screenshots all day.

#Why screenshots leak keys

When something breaks, the quickest thing to show an AI tool is the screen: the terminal with the error, the config file, the dashboard. Those are exactly the places keys live. A .env file open in a split pane, an export OPENAI_API_KEY=... a few lines up in your shell history, a curl command with an Authorization: Bearer header. You're looking at the error, so you don't notice the key.

Once the image is pasted into a chat, it has left your Mac. You can delete the message, but you can't be sure where the picture went or how long it's kept. So the work has to happen before you paste.

#Step 1: Capture less of the screen

A full-screen capture shows everything. A tight one shows only the error. Apple's screenshot guide lists the shortcuts:

Add Control to any of them (for example ⌃⇧⌘4) and the screenshot goes to the clipboard instead of a file, ready to paste. Press Esc to cancel a capture.

The Options menu in ⇧⌘5 lets you:

• Choose where screenshots are saved
• Set a timer
• Show or hide the floating thumbnail after a capture
• Show or hide the mouse pointer
• On supported Macs running macOS Tahoe 26 or later, pick the capture format: SDR (PNG) or HDR (HEIF)

For sharing with AI tools, ⌃⇧⌘4 is the one to learn. Drag around just the error text, and the key three lines above it never makes it into the picture.

#Tidy up before you capture

A few seconds of prep removes most of the risk:

• Close or collapse the .env file, or switch to another tab.
• In the terminal, run clear so old output scrolls out of view.
• Hide browser tabs or bookmarks that show account names.

clear

#Step 2: Cover anything sensitive with Markup

When the key has to be in the frame, cover it. Markup is built into macOS, and Apple's Markup guide describes the tools.

1. Take the screenshot with the floating thumbnail switched on, then click the thumbnail to edit the screenshot. (You can also open any image in Preview, or select it in Finder, press Space for Quick Look and click the Markup button.)
2. Click Shapes and choose the rectangle.
3. Drag the rectangle over the key.
4. Click Fill Color and choose a solid colour, such as black. Set Border Color to match.
5. Click Done to save.

Use a filled shape, not the Highlight tool. A highlight is see-through, so the key is still readable under it.

Then check the result. Open the saved file again and zoom in on where the key was. If you can still read any part of it, cover it again.

#What this way can't do

• It relies on you spotting the key. In a long log or a dense config, it's easy to miss one.
• It takes a minute per screenshot. When you're sending five shots to an agent to explain a bug, that adds up.
• Long tokens wrap across lines, so one secret can need two or three boxes.

#Step 3: If a key leaked, rotate it

If a screenshot with a readable key has already been pasted somewhere, treat the key as exposed. Deleting the message doesn't change that.

1. Sign in to the service that issued the key (your AI provider, cloud host, payment provider or Git host).
2. Create a new key.
3. Put the new key wherever the old one was used: your .env file, your deployment's environment variables, your CI secrets.
4. Revoke or delete the old key.
5. Check the service's usage or audit log for activity you don't recognise.

Doing steps 2 and 3 before step 4 means your app keeps working while you swap. If you think the key is already being misused, revoke it first and fix the app afterwards.

#The faster way: Vibeshots

Vibeshots is a menu bar screenshot app made for this kind of work. Every capture goes straight to the clipboard and into a searchable history, and its shortcuts start with ⌃⌥⌘ so they stay clear of ⇧⌘4 and your editor.

The part that matters here is auto-blur. Switch it on in Settings › Capture, and Vibeshots reads the text in each capture on your Mac and pixelates anything that looks like a key before it reaches the clipboard. It knows the shapes of OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS, GitHub, Google, Slack and Stripe keys, JSON Web Tokens, bearer tokens, private key headers, lines like password=… or api_key: …, and very long token-like strings. The blur is flattened into the image, so there's no layer to peel back. It's off until you turn it on, and like any detector it can't catch everything, so give sensitive shots a quick look.

For what a pattern can't spot, the editor has a blur brush, plus arrows, boxes, text and a highlighter to point at the problem. Press ⌃⌥⌘V where you're typing and the paste panel drops several recent captures into Cursor, Claude Code, Codex or ChatGPT in one go. Terminal agents that take images with Ctrl+V work too, since every capture is already on the clipboard.

Capturing, text recognition and blurring all run on your Mac. There's no account, and the app goes online only to activate your license and check for updates. It runs on macOS 14 Sonoma or later, on Apple silicon and Intel. A lifetime license is $17.99 for one Mac, $44.99 for three, $69.99 for five or $269.99 for twenty.

#FAQ

#Can AI tools read API keys in screenshots?

Yes. Tools that accept images can read the text in them, keys included. If a key is legible to you, assume the tool can read it too.

#How do I take a screenshot straight to the clipboard on a Mac?

Add Control to the usual shortcut. ⌃⇧⌘4 lets you drag out an area and copies it to the clipboard instead of saving a file, and ⌃⇧⌘3 does the same for the whole screen.

#Is the Highlight tool in Markup enough to hide a key?

No. Highlight is see-through, so the text underneath stays readable. Use a rectangle from Shapes with a solid Fill Color, then reopen the saved file to check.

#What should I do if I already pasted a screenshot with my API key?

Rotate the key. Create a new one in the provider's dashboard, update your app and environment variables, revoke the old key, and check the usage log for anything unfamiliar.

#Is Vibeshots' auto-blur on by default?

No. Turn it on once in Settings › Capture, and from then on every capture is checked before it reaches the clipboard. You can also run it on a single screenshot from the editor.

Temperature alone can mislead you. One Mac is fine at a temperature that would already have another one cutting back, so the number on a sensor doesn't tell you whether you're losing speed. Below are the checks you can run yourself, what each one shows on Apple silicon and Intel, and a simpler way to keep an eye on it.

#What thermal throttling is

When a Mac gets too hot, macOS lowers how hard the processor works so it makes less heat. Fans, if your Mac has them, spin up first. If that isn't enough, performance drops. It happens without a message, so all you notice is that an export, a build or a game suddenly feels slow.

macOS tracks this as a pressure level. The levels are Nominal, Moderate, Heavy, Trapping and Sleeping. Nominal is normal. Moderate means the Mac is warming up. Heavy is where throttling begins. The last two are rare and extreme.

#Way 1: pmset -g therm

pmset is built into macOS and doesn't need an administrator password. Its man page says -g therm "shows thermal conditions that affect CPU speed" and that it is "not available on all platforms".

pmset -g therm

On an Apple silicon Mac running macOS 26 Tahoe, the result looks like this:

Note: No thermal warning level has been recorded
Note: No performance warning level has been recorded
Note: No CPU power status has been recorded

On Intel Macs, this command can report values such as CPU_Speed_Limit, a percentage where anything below 100 means macOS has capped the processor's speed.

#What this way can't do

On Apple silicon, these notes are not much to go on. Stanislas Lange, who wrote the open-source MacThrottle, found that pmset's thermal log showed only "No ... has been recorded" notes while he stress-tested an Apple silicon Mac. So a clean result there isn't proof that all is well. Treat pmset -g therm as a useful check on Intel and a weak one on Apple silicon.

#Way 2: powermetrics (needs sudo)

powermetrics is Apple's built-in tool for CPU, GPU and power statistics, and it has a sampler just for thermal pressure. Its man page describes the thermal sampler as showing "the current thermal pressure the system is under". It needs administrator rights, so it runs with sudo and asks for your password.

To take one reading:

sudo powermetrics --samplers thermal -n 1

The output includes a line like:

Current pressure level: Nominal

To watch it change while you run something heavy, take a reading every second and press Control-C to stop:

sudo powermetrics --samplers thermal -i 1000

If the level moves from Nominal to Moderate, your Mac is getting warm. If it reaches Heavy, it is throttling.

The cpu_power sampler shows CPU power and frequency information, which lets you see the drop for yourself: during throttling, the CPU can stay busy while its power and frequency fall.

sudo powermetrics --samplers thermal,cpu_power -i 1000

#Apple silicon vs Intel

The samplers differ by Mac. Run powermetrics -h (no sudo needed) to see the list your Mac supports. On Apple silicon it includes thermal, cpu_power, gpu_power and ane_power. The man page also describes an smc sampler with fan speed and temperature sensors "on supported platforms", but it isn't in the list on an Apple silicon Mac.

powermetrics -h

The man page has more detail:

man powermetrics

#What this way can't do

It's a Terminal window you have to keep open, it needs your password, and the man page notes each reading is an instantaneous value taken at the end of the sample window. It's good for testing a hunch, not for noticing throttling during an ordinary afternoon.

#Way 3: Activity Monitor

Activity Monitor can't show the pressure level, but it helps you find the cause. Apple's guide to keeping your Mac laptop within acceptable operating temperatures suggests it when a Mac stays warm without heavy work, or its fans run for a long time.

1. Open Activity Monitor (in Applications > Utilities).
2. Click CPU.
3. Sort by % CPU to see what is working hardest. Look for something you didn't expect, like a stuck browser tab or a background process running flat out.
4. Choose Window > CPU History to see recent activity over time.

At the bottom of the window, Apple's Activity Monitor guide explains the split: System is macOS, User is your apps, and Idle is unused capacity.

The telltale pattern is high CPU use while the work takes longer than usual. That points to heat as the limit, but Activity Monitor can't confirm it on its own.

#Before you blame heat: Low Power Mode

A Mac in Low Power Mode is slower on purpose, and that isn't throttling. Apple's article About Power Modes on your Mac says Low Power Mode "reduces energy use to increase battery life", and on supported models it also lowers fan noise.

To check it:

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings.
2. Click Battery (on a desktop Mac, Energy).
3. Look at Energy Mode for "On battery" and "On power adapter".

Some MacBook Pro, Mac mini and Mac Studio models also have High Power Mode, which lets the fans run faster in very intensive work. Apple's article lists which models have each mode.

Simple habits help too. Apple's fans and fan noise article recommends using the Mac on a hard, flat surface with the vents clear, and Apple suggests an ambient temperature between 10° and 35° C (50° and 95° F) for Mac laptops.

#The simpler way: MyMacIsHot

MyMacIsHot is a small menu bar app that keeps watching the same pressure level, so you don't have to run Terminal commands. It puts a face in the menu bar: calm and monochrome while all is well, and in colour when heat starts to matter.

It reads the five-level thermal pressure without an admin password, a helper or a background service. It reports Moderate and Heavy separately, which matters because Heavy is where throttling begins, and it groups the two rare extreme levels as Critical. Click the face for the hottest CPU or GPU core temperature, fan speed in RPM, a ten-minute graph and how long your Mac has spent throttled. Optional notifications tell you once when throttling starts, turns critical or clears.

It runs on macOS 15 Sequoia or later, on Apple silicon and Intel, and costs $4.99 once. It's a monitor, not a hardware diagnostic: if you suspect a fault, contact Apple.

#FAQ

#Is my Mac throttling if it feels hot?

Not necessarily. Macs run warm under load and turn their fans up first. Throttling starts when the thermal pressure level reaches Heavy, which you can check with sudo powermetrics --samplers thermal.

#Why does pmset -g therm say nothing has been recorded?

On Apple silicon Macs, that is the usual result, and it has been reported even during stress tests. Use powermetrics with the thermal sampler for a clearer answer. On Intel Macs, look for a CPU_Speed_Limit below 100.

#Can I check thermal pressure without sudo?

The built-in tool that prints the pressure level, powermetrics, needs sudo. Menu bar apps such as MyMacIsHot read the same level without an admin password.

#Does Low Power Mode cause throttling?

Low Power Mode lowers energy use on purpose, so your Mac may be slower, but that's a setting you chose, not heat. Check System Settings > Battery (or Energy) to see which mode is on.

#Do Apple silicon Macs throttle?

Yes. Under long, heavy work they can reach Heavy thermal pressure and slow down, like any Mac. The pressure level is the same signal on Apple silicon and Intel.