Rudi Louw.

Mac app + website

Hoverpad

A Mac app for sticky notes that float above everything, even fullscreen apps.

My role
Design and development
Platform
Mac, macOS 15 or later
Status
Coming soon to the Mac App Store
Built with
Swift, SwiftUI, AppKit, ScreenCaptureKit, CloudKit
Visit hoverpad.app (opens in a new tab)
Hoverpad: notes that float above everything on your Mac
The Hoverpad app icon, a yellow sticky note on a purple tile with a colour wheel

Sticky notes usually disappear the moment you go fullscreen or share your screen. Hoverpad keeps them on top of every app, hides private ones from screen sharing, and can float a pinned piece of your screen as its own window. I designed and built the native Mac app, and the website that introduces it.

The app

Notes that stay where you are working

Hoverpad is a native Mac app written in Swift and SwiftUI. It is built around one problem: the note you need is never in the window you are looking at. Notes float above every app, including fullscreen apps, and follow you across desktops and Spaces.

  1. 01

    Above fullscreen apps

    Notes stay on top of fullscreen apps and video calls, which is where Apple’s own Stickies does not reach.

  2. 02

    Hidden from screen sharing

    Private notes can be kept out of screenshots, recordings and screen sharing in Zoom, Meet and Teams. The site recommends testing before an important call.

  3. 03

    Pin Screen Area

    Choose part of your screen, such as a chart or a design, and float it above other windows as its own window, with an optional live mode that keeps updating.

  4. 04

    Layouts and Quick Add

    Switch between free, stack and grid layouts from the keyboard, and capture a note from any app with a global shortcut. Notes support checklists and Markdown.

  5. 05

    Pro, bought once

    Free to start. A one-time Pro unlock adds unlimited notes, iCloud sync, Touch ID lock, per-note privacy and more. There is no subscription.

  6. 06

    Private by design

    Notes stay on your Mac, or in your own private iCloud if you switch sync on. There are no accounts, no analytics and no Hoverpad servers.

The website

A small, fast site for a small, fast app

The Hoverpad website is a separate project: a static site on Vercel, deployed from GitHub, with no build step. It explains the app with interactive demo notes, lists the free and Pro features plainly, and carries the privacy, terms and support pages the App Store requires.

  1. 01

    Guides people search for

    Five landing pages answer real questions, such as how to keep notes over fullscreen apps, how to hide notes from screen sharing and how Hoverpad compares with Stickies.

  2. 02

    Ready for search and AI

    A sitemap, structured data for the app, and an llms.txt file that describes the product to AI tools.

Built with

  • Swift
  • SwiftUI
  • AppKit
  • ScreenCaptureKit
  • CloudKit
  • StoreKit
  • Vercel

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Got
something
to build?

A site that needs to be better, an app that needs to exist, a platform that has outgrown its tools. Tell me what it is and I’ll tell you honestly how I’d approach it.

hi@rudilouw.com

or email hi@rudilouw.com