BlogRelease notes4 October 20263 min read

Try new NotchDude features early with beta updates

NotchDude moves quickly, and the best feedback comes from people using new features on their own Macs. Two small updates, 1.9.1 and 1.9.2, make that easier and safer: you can now opt in to beta versions, updates reach everyone gradually, and if something does go wrong, NotchDude can tell me where, without telling me anything about you.

Get beta updates (1.9.2)

Turn on Get beta updates in Settings › General › Updates and NotchDude offers you new versions a few days before everyone else. Betas are the same signed, notarized builds that later become regular releases, tested before they go out, but they're where new features meet real Macs for the first time, so expect the odd rough edge.

If something looks off, send it from Settings › Support; that's exactly what the beta is for. You can turn betas off any time, and you'll simply carry on with the next regular release.

Updates arrive gradually (1.9.2)

New versions now reach automatic update checks in steps over about a day and a half instead of all at once. If a problem slips through, it reaches far fewer people before it's fixed. Don't want to wait? Check for Updates… in the menu bar icon or the notch's ··· menu always gets the newest version straight away.

Private crash reports (1.9.1)

Until now, if NotchDude crashed or froze on your Mac, I only knew if you told me. Now macOS's own diagnostics (MetricKit) prepare a report on your Mac, and NotchDude sends a summary: the version, the kind of problem, and where in NotchDude's code it happened. Those locations are just numbers that only my private debug files can turn into function names.

Reports never include your clipboard, notes, files, messages, or anything else you do in NotchDude. They're part of the analytics you can turn off in Settings › Privacy, and the privacy policy lists exactly what's sent.

Messages, lighter on your battery (1.9.1)

The Pro Messages widget used to look for new WhatsApp, Slack, and Teams notifications more than once a second. It now waits until macOS actually records a notification, then checks. New messages show up just as quickly, but NotchDude does far less work in the background, which matters for an app that's always running.

How to update

Choose Check for Updates… from the menu bar icon or the notch's ··· menu. New here? Download NotchDude and every Pro feature is unlocked for your first 48 hours. The user guide covers beta updates, What's new in NotchDude 1.9 covers the screenshot thumbnail and drop actions, and the release notes list every version.