Trackpad
Use your iPhone as a mouse and trackpad for your Mac
Real gestures, and a tap you can feel on every click.
Try it here.
Move your pointer on the phone, or pick a gesture below.
In short
macOS has no built-in way to use an iPhone as a mouse or trackpad, so you need an app on both devices. Glasspad is a free, open source one: it turns your iPhone into a trackpad for your Mac, MacBook or Mac mini over Wi-Fi. One finger moves the pointer, a tap clicks and you feel it, two fingers scroll and pinch, and three fingers swipe between Spaces or open Mission Control, following your Mac's own trackpad settings.
Glasspad is free and open source (MIT). It works with a Mac on macOS 14 or later or a PC on Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, and an iPhone on iOS 18 or later or an Android phone on Android 10 or later, on the same Wi-Fi.
Is there a built-in way?
No. Universal Control shares one Mac's keyboard and trackpad with other Macs and iPads, not with an iPhone. iPhone Mirroring goes the other way: your Mac controls your iPhone. Switch Control can drive a Mac from an iPhone, but it is an accessibility feature that steps through items on the screen, not a pointer you move with your finger. To use the iPhone like a mouse, you need an app on the iPhone and a small helper on the Mac.
More on this: every way to control your Mac from your iPhone.
What you get
A click you can feel
Every tap clicks, and the iPhone taps back.
Your Mac's gestures
Scroll with momentum, pinch, rotate, smart zoom and force click.
Spaces and Mission Control
Three fingers swipe between Spaces, or up for Mission Control.
Follows your settings
Gestures and pointer speed come from your Mac's trackpad settings.
How it works
Turn the iPhone sideways
Trackpad is the first mode. Held sideways, the pad is wider.
Use your fingers
One finger moves the pointer, a tap clicks, two scroll, three swipe.
Add a keyboard
The Type layout puts the trackpad beside the keyboard on one screen.
Every gesture
| On your iPhone | What your Mac does | |
|---|---|---|
| Move | Slide one finger | The pointer moves, at your Mac's tracking speed |
| Click | Tap with one finger | A click, and the iPhone taps back |
| Force click | Hold a finger still for a moment | Look up, or a preview, as on a Magic Trackpad |
| Right click | Tap with two fingers | The menu for what is under the pointer |
| Scroll | Slide two fingers | Scrolls, with momentum, in your Mac's scroll direction |
| Zoom | Pinch with two fingers | Zooms in or out |
| Spaces | Swipe three fingers sideways | Moves to the next or previous Space |
| Mission Control | Swipe three fingers up | Shows every open window |
| Scroll strip | Slide one thumb along the strip at the edge | Scrolls like two fingers, with momentum. Optional, for holding the phone upright: Settings, Trackpad, Scroll Strip, where you choose its speed, width, length, momentum, and whether resting at an end keeps scrolling |
With a Mac mini, Mac Studio or a broken trackpad
Glasspad works with any Mac on macOS 14 or later, including a Mac mini or Mac Studio with no trackpad of its own. The first install needs a few clicks on the Mac (Xcode, your Apple ID and the Accessibility permission), so borrow a mouse and keyboard for that. After that the iPhone can be the Mac's trackpad and keyboard: the Type layout puts both on one screen, with the iPhone held sideways.
Questions
Can I use my iPhone as a mouse for my MacBook?
Yes. Glasspad works with any MacBook, iMac, Mac mini or Mac Studio on macOS 14 or later. The iPhone works as a trackpad rather than a mouse you push around: you move the pointer with your finger, as on a MacBook's own trackpad.
Can I use my iPhone as a trackpad without an app?
No. Universal Control works between Macs and iPads, not iPhones, and iPhone Mirroring goes the other way: the Mac controls the iPhone. You need an app on the iPhone and a small helper on the Mac. Glasspad vs Universal Control.
Does it use Bluetooth?
No. The iPhone and the Mac talk over the same Wi-Fi network. They pair once with a QR code, and every message is encrypted.
Does it feel like a real trackpad?
It reads your Mac's trackpad settings and pointer acceleration, draws in step with the Mac's display, and keeps motion smooth over short Wi-Fi gaps. Touches are read at 120 Hz on ProMotion iPhones. On a crowded or weak network you will notice more lag than with a Magic Trackpad.
My Mac's trackpad is broken. Can this replace it?
Once it is set up, yes. Installing it needs a few clicks on the Mac (Xcode, your Apple ID, Accessibility), so borrow a mouse for the first install.
Is it free?
Yes, all of it. There are no ads, accounts, subscriptions or in-app purchases, and the code is on GitHub under the MIT License.
Keep exploring
Get Glasspad. It is free.
Glasspad is free and open source (MIT). It works with a Mac on macOS 14 or later or a PC on Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, and an iPhone on iOS 18 or later or an Android phone on Android 10 or later, on the same Wi-Fi. On a Mac, paste this into Terminal:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Soham109/glasspad/main/install.sh | bashThe script builds it with Xcode 26 or later and your free Apple ID, and waits for you where Apple needs a click. Windows and Android install from GitHub Releases. Every install step Help in the guide