# PanicLock 12 Hacker News commenters recommended PanicLock and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months. **Verdict:** Free menu bar button that instantly disables Touch ID and locks the Mac; critics say it does not protect data already in memory or on an unencrypted drive. ## Why people recommend it - Instantly disables Touch ID and locks (2 comments): "PanicLock gives you a one-click or hotkey panic button from the menu bar that immediately disables Touch ID and locks your screen" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47808844)) "when you need your Mac locked now and you'll be back in five minutes, PanicLock is your answer." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47809811)) - Protects against forced fingerprint unlock (2 comments): "I wrote this after the case of a Washington Post reporter, Hannah Natanson, was compelled to unlock her computer with her fingerprint." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47812620)) "Better than nothing and keeps them from having unlocked access." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47809787)) - Fills a gap Apple left (3 comments): "Terrific solution on something that Apple clearly missed." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47814972)) "This should be an OS X feature, it's just that good." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47812360)) "Nice to see something like this on the Mac side." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47812509)) - Free, open source, no data collection (2 comments): "Thank you for coding it and publishing as open-source!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47809161)) "Free, notarized and no data collection." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46914691)) ## What people warn about - Does not protect data in memory or disk (2 comments): "disabling biometrics won't prevent data from being retrieved from physical memory" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47811203)) "This does nothing since the drive is still unencrypted." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47812948)) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "PanicLock", https://hackerapproved.com/p/paniclock/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).