Access your Mac away from home from your iPhone

On your home network, Pipa finds your Mac by itself. Away from it, Pipa uses Tailscale, a private network between your devices that's free for personal use. You don't open router ports, you don't set up a fixed IP, and no Pipa server sits in between.

Set it up once (5 minutes)

1. Install Tailscale on your Mac and your iPhone (or iPad) and sign in to the same account on both.
2. At home, pair your iPhone with your Mac by QR code as usual: start pairing in the Pipa Host menu, then in Pipa tap + › Scan Mac's QR Code. If you paired before installing Tailscale, pair again.
3. Done. The QR code already carries the Tailscale route. Away from home, with Tailscale on in your iPhone, your Mac shows as available under Your Macs and one tap connects.

Tips so you're never stuck

• Keep your Mac awake or ready to wake. While you're connected, your Mac doesn't sleep. To wake it remotely, turn on Wake for network access (System Settings › Battery › Options) and keep it plugged in. Away from home, first connect to another paired Mac that's awake on the same network: it passes the request along.
• Unlock your Mac before you leave. macOS may not accept a password typed at the lock screen over a remote session.
• On cellular, the picture adapts. Pipa lowers the video rate when the network gets worse and asks for a fresh picture when it recovers.

Is it safe?

Yes. Tailscale builds an encrypted tunnel only between your devices, and inside it Pipa uses its own encryption (TLS 1.3) and only accepts devices you approved on your Mac. If you lose your iPhone, revoke it in the Pipa Host menu and it's cut off at once. More in the privacy policy and support.