Warden vs the macOS screen lock
Both stop someone typing on your Mac. Only one of them lets you keep watching what your Mac is doing.
The difference in one sentence
The macOS screen lock protects your screen; Warden protects your input. macOS hides the desktop behind the login window, so a build, render, or agent session becomes invisible the moment you lock. Warden blocks keyboard, mouse, and trackpad while leaving every pixel on screen.
Side by side
| macOS screen lock | Warden | |
|---|---|---|
| Screen stays visible | No — desktop is hidden behind the login window | Yes — everything stays on screen |
| Blocks keyboard, mouse, trackpad | Yes | Yes, at the macOS event-tap layer |
| Unlock method | Touch ID or password | Touch ID or password |
| Multiple displays | All displays hidden | All displays covered by a lock overlay |
| Keeps the Mac awake | No — sleep settings still apply | Optional sleep prevention while locked |
| Cost | Built in | $3.99 one-time, 7-day free trial |
When the macOS screen lock is the right tool
If the point is privacy — you are leaving a laptop in a cafe, or your screen shows something nobody else should read — use the built-in lock. Hiding the display is exactly what you want, it is free, and it is part of the operating system.
When an input lock is the right tool
If the point is protecting work in progress, hiding the screen is a cost rather than a benefit. You cannot see whether the Xcode build failed, whether the 4K export is still encoding, or whether your AI coding agent is waiting on a prompt. An input lock keeps all of that in view while making the keyboard and trackpad inert.
This is why input locking pairs with sleep prevention: a Mac that sleeps mid-render has failed at the same job as a Mac that got a stray keystroke.
Can you use both?
Yes — they solve different problems and do not conflict. Lock input with Warden while you are nearby and want to keep watching, and use the macOS screen lock when you are actually leaving the machine unattended somewhere you do not control.