Stop apps from burning your hotspot data

Hotspot Guard is a macOS menu bar tool. It watches how much data each app pulls over your iPhone hotspot, and steps in when one of them runs away with it.

Download for macOS

Version 1.0.11 · 911 KB · macOS 14 or later (Apple silicon)
Signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple — opens without warnings.
1.0.11 actually fixes per-app measurement. 1.0.10 was released claiming to fix it and did not: on a phone hotspot the list still read “No traffic yet” while data was being used, even though the monthly total kept climbing. Each sample was doing a name lookup that stalled on hotspot DNS and got cut off before it returned any data. A sample round now takes about 0.3 seconds instead of five. 1.0.8 stopped the menu bar icon from showing full Wi-Fi while you are offline, and tells you when your iPhone is plugged in but macOS is still sending traffic over Wi-Fi.
Free while in early access. Pricing is not decided yet.

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Per-app limits, not all-or-nothing

Set how much an app may use in a minute or an hour. Apps keep working normally until they cross the line.

Warns before it acts

Highlight, notify, ask, or step in automatically — you choose the level for each rule. Automatic action is off by default.

Knows when you are on the hotspot

It only guards on metered connections and goes idle on regular Wi-Fi, so it never gets in your way at home.

Ignores local traffic

AirDrop, Bonjour, and anything on your local network never counts against your plan, because it never touched the hotspot.

Keeps big downloads off the hotspot

Mark Xcode, Docker, or any command line tool as blocked, and it asks you the moment they reach for the network.

Monthly budget with a forecast

See what is left in your plan and whether you are on track to run out before the billing period ends.

Hotspot Guard runs entirely on your Mac. It has no account, sends no telemetry, and does not use the network at all while you are on a hotspot. Everything it measures stays on your machine.