CleanGuard for Mac

Lock. Clean. Relax. Because cleaning your MacBook shouldn’t be risky.

On MacBook models released since 2016, pressing a key or the built-in trackpad can wake or power on the computer. As a result, cleaning the keyboard and trackpad while the Mac is switched off is no longer advisable.

CleanGuard solves this problem by temporarily "blocking" input from the keyboard and trackpad. This lets you safely clean your Mac while it is running, without triggering accidental clicks, keystrokes, commands, or other unwanted actions.

Simple, temporary protection designed to make cleaning your Mac safer.

It requires macOS 14.6 or laterUniversal Binary

For maximum protection, enable Pro Mode in the app, which requires Accessibility and Input Monitoring system permissions. Please note that brightness and volume controls remain active—a standard macOS behavior—though fortunately, they cannot cause any unintended actions during the cleaning process.

In any case, once the user completes the cleaning process, CleanGuard restores the previous volume level and attempts to restore the screen brightness as well. Please note that restoring brightness cannot be guaranteed due to macOS system limitations.

I would like to underline that CleanGuard is fully Sandboxed and Notarized by Apple, meaning it runs in a secure, isolated environment with zero access to your personal files. Accessibility and Input Monitoring permissions are used strictly while the screen shield is active—simply to intercept and neutralize accidental keystrokes as you clean your Mac. CleanGuard never records or transmits personal data, does not log keystrokes, and never runs in the background. (Starting from version 1.02 onwards, closing the window quits the application instantly.)