Tiles for apps, links and Shortcuts
Add any Mac app, any web address or any shortcut. Tiles sit in named rows you can reorder.
FeaturesEverything it does.
Everything it does.
All of it.
Kickback is small, but it is thorough. Here is the whole list, grouped by where you will find it.
A home screen for the big screen
Windowed or edge-to-edge full screen, driven by the remote, the keyboard, a mouse or a game controller.
Automatic artwork
App icons, site icons and posters are fetched for you, with matching colors. Prefer your own picture? Set custom artwork per tile.
Top Shelf
The tile in focus gets a large title and a soft wash of its colors across the top of the screen.
Dedicated TV Mode
Launch at login, stay full screen, make launched apps full screen too, and keep the display awake.
Open links in apps
Links for Spotify, Apple Music, Apple TV, Podcasts, Maps, Zoom, Slack, Discord and more open in the Mac app when it is installed. You choose app or browser per service.
Reuse browser tabs
A link switches to the tab that already shows it instead of opening a duplicate. Works with Safari, Chrome, Brave, Edge and Vivaldi.
Its own browser window
By default Kickback keeps a browser window of its own, so your other windows are never switched or navigated.
Screensaver
Fades in after a delay you choose, so a paused evening does not burn in.
The phone is the remote
Free for iPhone and Android. It finds your Mac on its own and reconnects by itself.
Swipe pad or D-pad
Swipe to move, tap to select, hold for tile options. Prefer buttons? Switch to a D-pad.
Trackpad
A real pointer for web pages. The D-pad hides the cursor; the first trackpad touch places it on the focused tile.
Live keyboard
The keyboard opens when a text field is focused on the Mac. A key strip adds esc, tab and the modifier keys.
Dictation
Hold the mic, speak, and let go to send.
A remote per app
Tailored controls for YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, Twitch, Plex, the TV app, IINA, VLC and QuickTime, plus music apps and browsers.
Search and Navigate
Jump to the search box of whatever is in front, or move a highlight between the things on screen with the D-pad.
App switcher
Double-press Home for running apps and open browser tabs. Tap to switch; hold to hide, quit or close a tab.
Tiles on your phone
Browse and launch tiles from the Apps tab. Hold to jiggle, drag to reorder, tap − to remove.
Haptics
Every control answers with a press-down tap. Turn them off if you would rather not.
A control center for the couch
Everything you would otherwise get up for, on one tab.
Now Playing
Artwork, title and artist, a scrubber, ±10 seconds and transport for whatever the Mac is playing.
Scenes
Movie Night, Bedtime and Back to Work are included. Build your own from controls, tiles, links, media keys, window moves, waits and Shortcuts.
Sleep timer
15 minutes to two hours, or the end of the current track. Then pause, turn off the display, or sleep the Mac, with a warning a minute before.
System toggles
Do Not Disturb, Dark Mode, Night Shift, Keep Awake, Full Screen and Mute, with sliders for volume and brightness.
Audio output
Send sound to the Mac speakers, an HDMI TV, AirPods or a USB device.
Window tools
Left half, right half, fill, center, full screen and minimize. With two displays: move to the next display and toggle mirroring.
Sleep Display and Screen Saver
One tap each, for when the film is over.
Your phone and your Mac, on speaking terms
Small conveniences that add up.
Share to TV
Share a link from any app to Kickback and choose Open on Mac or Add as Tile.
Clipboard both ways
Send your phone clipboard to the Mac or fetch the Mac clipboard. Paste ↑ can press ⌘V for you.
Wake on LAN
A sleeping Mac shows a Wake button, and the remote connects when it is up. Available on Android today.
Volume buttons
While the remote is open, the phone volume buttons change the Mac volume.
Lock-screen controls
Put the Mac Now Playing on your lock screen with play, pause, next and previous.
Plain words in, real actions out
Needs macOS 26 or later on Apple silicon. It runs on the Mac, so Android phones get it too.
Ask
"Put on Netflix and dim the screen." Simple requests run right away; bigger ones show a Run button first.
Describe a scene
"Make a scene for game night" drafts a name, icon and steps for you to review and save.
Organize Tiles
Suggests clean names, sensible rows and a short description for each tile. Nothing changes until you apply it.
Smart Clipboard
Send text from your phone and Kickback suggests what to do with it: open a link, show a place in Maps, track a package, check a flight, or search a service you have a tile for.
Plays well with others
If your Mac can do it, a tile can start it.
Shortcuts as tiles
Run any shortcut in the background, with a toast on the Mac and the phone when it finishes or fails. HomeKit scenes, scripts and app actions are one tile away.
Game controllers
PlayStation, Xbox and MFi controllers navigate the launcher. In other apps only the Home button acts, so games keep the controller.
Keyboard and mouse
Arrows, Return and Esc work everywhere in the launcher. ⌃⌘F toggles full screen.
Direct, and encrypted
No server sits between your phone and your Mac.
Wi-Fi
Bonjour discovery and a direct WebSocket on your own network.
Bluetooth LE
A second route for when Wi-Fi is awkward.
End-to-end encryption
X25519 key agreement and ChaCha20-Poly1305, after a 6-digit pairing code shown on the Mac.
Paired remotes
Review and remove paired phones in Settings, or switch off new pairings altogether.