Required
Accessibility Service
To control Android with your PC's mouse and keyboard and to handle remote input and screen-related actions, the Accessibility Service is required. OneMouse's core features depend on it.
Technical & Security
How it connects and which permissions it uses — laid out separately.
This page isn't the everyday how-to. It explains how the connection works and why each permission is used. For step-by-step usage, see the User Guide.
Local First
It works only between your own paired devices.
Input, files, and clipboard travel directly between your Windows PC and a paired Android device, Windows PC, or Mac. Nothing is uploaded to an account through an outside server.
Permissions
Only what a feature actually needs.
Nothing is requested all at once. Android and Mac ask for each permission when the related feature starts.
When starting remote control
Screen capture approval
Approved through an Android system prompt when you open the mobile remote control window. Some content, such as secure screens, may not appear.
When connecting
Nearby Wi-Fi devices
May be requested on Android 13 and later when finding your PC. It's asked the moment you search, not when the app launches.
When the service starts
Notifications
Used to show the background connection status. Requested only when needed.
When using brightness
Modify system settings
Needed once the first time you adjust the mobile screen brightness with Alt+Shift+↑/↓.
Recommended
Battery optimization exception
Recommended for stability if the connection drops after the screen turns off. It isn't required.
Mac · macOS 15+ only
Local Network
Allows the Mac to discover the Windows PC on macOS 15+. macOS 13/14 may not show this permission and the runtime treats it as not required.
Required on Mac
Accessibility
Allows the Mac to perform mouse and keyboard input received from Windows. Basic input receiving does not require Input Monitoring.
Mac screen sharing only
Screen & System Audio Recording
Used only when sharing the Mac's display with Windows. OneMouse does not capture system audio.
Mac Bluetooth · beta
Bluetooth
Mac Bluetooth is available as a beta (enable it in the Mac app settings). LAN is the officially supported way to connect a Mac and share its screen or windows.
Data Handling
Input, files, and clipboard — only within the scope you choose.
- No remote account is created — it works through pairing, with no sign-in.
- Files you send aren't stored on a server. They go straight to the device you pick.
- Accessibility data is never used for advertising or screen collection. It's used only for the stated features, such as passing input and remote control.
- Clipboard and file transfers happen only when you choose a target and start them yourself.
- The Mac app stores its paired session key in the macOS Keychain. Clearing pairing removes the trusted connection.
Network
Connection quality depends on your local network conditions.
Recommended setup
- The same Wi-Fi on a personal Wi-Fi router (2.4 or 5 GHz, either is fine)
- A network that allows device-to-device communication
- OneMouse allowed inbound in the Windows firewall
- On macOS 15+, Local Network access allowed for OneMouse on the Mac
Limited setup
- Client isolation on guest or corporate Wi-Fi
- Inbound blocked on a network marked as "Public"
- In these cases, use a direct Bluetooth connection or a personal hotspot
OneMouse doesn't go through an internet relay server, so the two devices need to be able to find each other directly.
Support Scope
Apple Silicon Macs are supported as LAN connection targets.
- Windows 10/11: connections are started and managed here; another Windows PC can also be a connection target.
- Android: connects as a target over same-network Wi-Fi/LAN or direct Bluetooth.
- macOS 13 or later: the public Apple Silicon build accepts LAN connections initiated and managed from Windows. Input, file and clipboard transfer, edge drag, and screen sharing are supported over LAN. Mac Bluetooth is available as a beta; LAN remains the officially supported path.
- Not included: connecting over USB/ADB is outside the official support scope.
- Windows-to-Windows supports two-way file, folder, and clipboard transfer. Windows-to-Mac file and clipboard flows are available over LAN.
Updates
Recent update log.
Public macOS 13+ support — a public DMG is now available for Apple Silicon Macs. Connect and arrange a Mac from Windows to continue using mouse and keyboard input, files, and clipboard.
Coming in the next Windows release: more reliable file dragging and return trips — carrying a file across PC and Mac boundaries, returning before drop, completing the transfer, or cancelling will keep the cursor and drag state in sync.
Coming in the next Windows and Android releases: stable phone orientation and multi-device handoffs — a single phone will no longer alternate between landscape and portrait in the device layout, and cursor position and connection state will remain stable during repeated handoffs across several devices.
Smarter device arrangement · See the full layout on another PC — devices no longer overlap, and dragging one between two others wedges it into place. Move the anchor device and the rest magnet-snap back to the Windows PC, and a second PC connected over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi now shows the Windows PC's full arrangement too.
Keep screen on while connected · idle dimming — the phone screen stays on during a connection and dims when idle to save battery. It holds even with several devices connected at once.
See other devices' positions from mobile · chain (single-row) arrangement — from your phone you can check how the other connected devices are arranged, and line up PC, phone, and PC in a single row.
Cursor crossing effect between devices · Ctrl+Alt+Backspace to recenter — a smooth effect as the cursor crosses between devices; if it gets lost, it returns to the center of the monitor.
Enter to send in messengers — in messaging apps, press Enter on the PC keyboard to send, and Shift+Enter for a new line.
Direct Bluetooth connection · PC-to-PC Bluetooth — connect to your phone or another PC without a Wi-Fi router to exchange input, clipboard, and files.