Hello, I am new to MacOS so please bear with me. One of the reasons I’ve picked MacOS over windows is the privacy and security it offers. Having an App Store similar to iPhone with checked apps by apple has a strong point in this matter.
However, I’ve noticed that most apps aren’t in the Appstore because of various permissions required. One of this is BetterTouchTool. On windows I’ve used an app called StrokeIt which I’ve used for various mouse gestures and worked really well. What I am missing is go back/forward on various apps, new tab in safari, close tab in safari. Things like this. I am using the MagicTrackpad
Looking on a Mac alternative I’ve found BTT but there are also places where users ask with concerns about the privacy and security related because of permissions it requires. Many, including me, are not confortable knowing an app “sees” everything that is on screen and ready every keystroke. In some places it’s stated that even if BTT is not on App Store, it is checked by apple and allowed to run on macOS.
Basically it all boils down to 2 questions:
- how safe is it to use BTT in a professional/commercial environment with privata data entered/displayed on the screen? Privacy policy should cover this. Does the app send any info beside what’s required to purchase/check license? I think this info should be highlighted somewhere on the homepage for everyone concerned about it to see it easily.
- since I haven’t used the app yet, is it possible to have drawn gestures, for instance draw an L with 2 fingers on trackpad and map that to a new tab in safari for instance?
Thank you.
see: folivora.ai - Great Tools for your Mac!
BTT can be used completely offline, it does not contain any tracking and does not send data to any servers (apart from the update checks, but these can also be disabled)
I have been using BTT both privately and at work for several years, and so far I have not encountered any security issues. I monitored its communication in the firewall and did not observe any suspicious data traffic.
BTT and other low-level applications that operate close to the hardware and bypass some macOS functions and limitations simply require elevated privileges. And thank goodness for that. If Apple were to block this completely, macOS would become very difficult to use properly. 
Thank you very much guys for your quick response.
Will give it a try but from what I’ve seen, this seems the go to tool for power users.
@Andreas_Hegenberg really great work, I’ve discovered the gesture draw that works with 3 fingers draw. It opens a lot of options to the very limited customization offered in MacOS related to touchpad.
So far I’ve found useful:
- 3 finger tap to play/stop playing media
- roate left/right to increase/decrease volume
- 3 finder swipe left/right go back/forward in other apps that don’t support
- 3 finger swipe down/up to new/close tab
Still tinkering with actual draw gestures.
In Tahoe there is this new clipboard manager that opens with Command + Space + 4 command. Is there a way with BTT to lunch this from another shortcut, for instance Command+Shift+V. This would be useful, Command+V for regular paste, Commang+Shift+V to see prev clipboard items
Really great tool!
You can:
However I would recommend to use BTT's clipboard manager instead, it is much more powerful
Thanks for the very quick reply, works like a charm. Yesterday I’ve spent quite some time to make this work via Shortcuts app but got all sort of declined system events.
I don’t see any option related to BTT’s clipboard in Settings. Can it be disabled if I use the macOS integrated one?
BTT's clipboard manager is only active if you configure it (via the predefined action "Show Clipboard Manager)
