PaneliftStraight from your Mac to your device
No VPN, no port forwarding, no account. Your screen goes directly between your devices, encrypted, and doesn't pass through a server of ours. That decision has a price, and it's on this page too.
Set it up once
From then on, your devices recognise each other by keys stored on each device. There's no account to create or password to reuse.
QR pairing is the stronger choice. With a 6-digit code, the connection service handles the sealed invitation and could in principle read it. Approval on your Mac is the safeguard either way, so only approve a device you recognise.
On your Mac,
open Pair New Device. It shows a QR code and a 6-digit code. They last two minutes.
On your device,
scan the code or type it in.
On your Mac,
approve the device by name. Nothing pairs without this.
Your device and your Mac each check in with the connection service, which tells them how to reach each other.
They try to connect directly, over the same Wi-Fi or the internet.
If your router allows it, your Mac asks it for a port, using UPnP or NAT-PMP, which improves the odds from mobile data.
Video and input flow directly over an encrypted WebRTC link. The connection service is out of it.
What happens when you tap
If the connection drops, Panelift keeps retrying until it's back or you tell it to stop.
The full list
- Device public keys and names
- Which devices trust each other
- IP addresses and connection timing
- Signed connection details, including local and public addresses
- For 6-digit pairing, the code and the sealed invitation
- Your screen or any video
- Your clicks, taps or typing
- Your clipboard
- Approving each new device on the Mac
- Ending a session from the Mac at any time
- Removing a device from your trusted list
- Turning clipboard sharing off
The connection service runs on Cloudflare, which also provides the STUN server that helps devices find a direct route.
The price of no relay
Plenty of remote apps fall back to a relay server when a direct route fails. Panelift doesn't, so no relay server handles your screen. The downside is that if there's no direct route, there's no connection.
More likely to work
- The same Wi-Fi as your Mac
- Home broadband, at the Mac's end, with a router that allows port mapping
- Your phone's hotspot or mobile data, particularly with port mapping working at home
More likely to fail
- Hotel, airport, conference and corporate networks that lock things down
- Mobile networks that are strict about direct connections, at either end
- A Mac on a network that does the same
Nothing says your network will work until you try it, so test it before you depend on it. If you're stuck, a phone hotspot is the usual plan B.
Every connection step is logged on your devices, if you need to find out why. Settings has Share Log on iPhone and iPad, and the Mac's menu bar has Export Diagnostic Log.
Data, roughly
Panelift caps each window's stream according to the network it sees.
| Network | Longest edge | Bitrate ceiling | Worst case, per hour, per window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi or Ethernet | 3840 px | 16 Mbps | about 7.2 GB |
| Mobile data or hotspot | 1600 px | 5 Mbps | about 2.25 GB |
| Low Data Mode | 1024 px | 1.5 Mbps | about 675 MB |
Those are ceilings. Mostly static windows should use less, but we haven't published measurements, so plan by the ceiling. The hourly figure is the bitrate worked out for a full hour. Each extra window in Split or Free layout has its own stream.
Settings has Full resolution on cellular if you'd rather spend the data on sharper text.
What the Mac app needs from you
Screen Recording, so it can show your windows. Accessibility, so your taps and typing can reach them. macOS asks for both, and you can withdraw them in System Settings.
Panelift lives in the menu bar and shows when someone's connected. End the session from there at any time.
The Mac's own screen isn't hidden. Anyone at your Mac can see what you're doing and can use it. There's no way to black out its display or lock it while you work. Locking it ends your session.
Panelift has automated protocol and service tests, but it hasn't had an independent security audit or penetration test. It can control a logged-in Mac, so pair only devices you trust, and remove any you lose. There's no Face ID or passcode gate in the app, so your device's own lock is doing that job.