# Porthole: Mac Remote Desktop — Private VNC Screen Sharing

> Private VNC Screen Sharing (iPhone/iPad app by TRD Ventures LLC.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/porthole-mac-remote-desktop/id6815382240 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [TRD Ventures LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1833397604)
- Category: Utilities, Productivity
- Price: Free with in-app purchases (on sale, was $9.99)
- Age rating: 12+
- Requires: iOS 18.0 · 8 MB
- Languages: American English, French (France), German (Germany), Italian, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese (Simplified, China), European Spanish
- Released: 2026-09-29
- Data updated: 2026-10-24

## What is Porthole?

Porthole is a private remote desktop app for your Mac. See and control your Mac from your iPhone or iPad with the Screen Sharing (VNC) that’s already built into macOS. There’s nothing to install on your Mac, no account to create, and no data collected.

Try every feature free for 7 days, then unlock Porthole with one purchase. No subscription.

HOW IT WORKS
1. Turn on Screen Sharing on your Mac. Porthole shows you how, step by step.
2. Porthole finds your Mac on your Wi‑Fi. Sign in with your Mac account, just as you would from another Mac.
3. Control your Mac with familiar gestures: drag to move the pointer, tap to click, two fingers to right-click and scroll, pinch to zoom. Or switch to Direct Touch and tap exactly where you want to click.

PRIVATE BY DESIGN
• App Store privacy label: Data Not Collected. No analytics, no ads, no accounts, no tracking.
• Porthole connects straight to the Macs you add. No relay server in between.
• Passwords are asked for each time unless you choose to save them. Saved passwords stay in this device’s Keychain and are never backed up or synced.
• Face ID or Touch ID protects the app when you open it, and your Mac’s screen never appears in the app switcher.

USE IT AWAY FROM HOME
• Reach your Mac from anywhere through a free VPN: WireGuard on your own home router, so nothing passes through anyone else’s servers, or Tailscale, the easiest to set up. An SSH tunnel works too. Porthole shows you how.
• Porthole won’t connect directly to a public address, so your screen and typing aren’t sent across the internet unprotected.
• Forgot to turn on your VPN? Porthole tells you right away, and Test Connection says exactly what to fix.
• Automatic quality adapts to your connection, from home Wi‑Fi to hotel Wi‑Fi, and signal bars show how it’s doing.
• Leave the app and come back, and Porthole reconnects on its own.

WORK ON YOUR MAC FROM YOUR iPHONE
• Send to Mac: paste text you copied on your iPhone or iPad, or type a password straight from your password app.
• One-tap Copy, Paste, Undo, Spotlight, Mission Control and more in the ⌘ menu.
• A keyboard bar with Command, Option, Control, Shift, Escape, Tab and arrow keys, plus F1–F12, Delete, Home, End, Page Up and Page Down.
• Three-finger Mac gestures, and Apple Pencil on iPad.

FILES ON YOUR MAC
• Browse your Mac’s folders, download files to share or save, and send files from your iPhone or iPad to your Mac, over SFTP through the same private connection. Uses Remote Login on your Mac.

MORE THAN ONE DISPLAY
• See all of your Mac’s displays at once, or pick one to fill your screen. Porthole remembers your choice for each Mac.

MADE FOR iPHONE AND iPAD
• Full support for hardware keyboards, mice and trackpads on iPad, including keyboard shortcuts.
• Connect a monitor or TV and your Mac fills the big screen while your iPhone or iPad becomes the trackpad.
• “Connect to Mac mini with Porthole” with Siri, Shortcuts or Spotlight, or from a widget or Control Center.
• Macs with Screen Sharing on your network appear automatically, and your list of Macs syncs through iCloud (passwords never do).
• Dark Mode, Dynamic Type, and 9 languages.

QUESTIONS
• Is there a subscription? No. Try it free for 7 days, then one purchase unlocks Porthole.
• Do I need to install anything on my Mac? No. Porthole uses Screen Sharing, which is part of macOS.
• Is Porthole a VNC client? Yes. It speaks VNC, the protocol behind macOS Screen Sharing, and signs in with your Mac account.
• Which Macs does it work with? Any Mac with Screen Sharing turned on, including Mac mini, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac Studio.
• Does it work away from home? Yes, through a VPN such as WireGuard or Tailscale, or an SSH tunnel.

REQUIREMENTS
iPhone or iPad with iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 or later, and a Mac with Screen Sharing turned on. Away from home, a VPN or SSH tunnel. Files requires Remote Login.

Setup guides: getporthole.app

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 7-day Trial | Free | one-time |
| Unlock Porthole | $9.99 | one-time |


## Is Porthole safe?

Not enough ratings yet to assess Porthole.

## Is Porthole legit?

Porthole: Mac Remote Desktop appears legitimate, with a few gaps. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Porthole is 65 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.


## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.2.2 — 2026-10-23

• If a Mac’s address is changed on another device signed in to your Apple Account, Porthole now shows you the new address and asks before connecting, so your saved password only goes where you expect.
• Allow Unencrypted Connection and trusted SSH keys now stay on each device.
• Editing a Mac that signs in with an SSH key no longer removes the saved key.

### 1.2.1 — 2026-10-22

• Rotating the screen with the keyboard open no longer hides the controls behind the keyboard bar.
• Reinstalled Porthole? Passwords and SSH keys saved before you deleted it are now removed, so you start fresh.

### 1.2.0 — 2026-10-20

• Porthole is now free to download. Try every feature free for 7 days, then unlock it with a single purchase. No subscription.
• Bought Porthole before? It’s already unlocked; there’s nothing to do.

### 1.1.0 — 2026-10-10

• Connect from anywhere without changing addresses: Porthole remembers how to reach your Mac through your VPN, and finds it by name with Tailscale.
• Test Connection tells you exactly what to fix when your Mac doesn’t answer.
• Send to Mac: paste what you copied on your iPhone, or type a password straight from your password app.
• One-tap Copy, Paste, Undo, Spotlight, Mission Control and more in the new ⌘ menu.
• Smoother scrolling, Apple Pencil support and three-finger Mac gestures.
• Your Macs sync through iCloud (passwords never do).
• Now in Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Italian and Korean.

### 1.0.0 — 2026-09-29

No release notes.

## More apps by TRD Ventures LLC

- [MindVault - Journal & Diary](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mindvault-journal-and-diary/id6751086576)
- [Briefly: AI News & Markets](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/briefly-ai-news-and-markets/id6757350755)
- [Momentum: ADHD Routines](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/momentum-adhd-routines/id6776038685)
- [CoverTrace: Redact ID & SSN](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/covertrace-redact-id-and-ssn/id6779474126)

All apps by TRD Ventures LLC: https://appshunter.io/developer/1833397604

---

*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-10-24.*