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VanZen for Mac

Everything in VanZen, in its own window, with Touch ID. It needs macOS 13.3 or later and runs on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.

Download and install

  1. Download the beta: VanZen.dmg.
  2. Open the downloaded file. A window shows VanZen and your Applications folder.
  3. Drag VanZen onto Applications.
  4. Eject the VanZen disk in Finder, and delete the downloaded file if you like.

VanZen for Mac is signed by Van Zandt LLC, the company behind VanZen, and notarized by Apple, so macOS checks it for malware before it opens. Only download VanZen from vanzen.ai.

The first time you open it

  1. Open VanZen from your Applications folder or Launchpad.
  2. macOS may ask whether you want to open an app downloaded from the internet. Choose Open.

If macOS won’t open it, see Troubleshooting.

Sign in

You sign in on vanzen.ai, in a secure sheet. Your password or passkey stays with Safari, not with the app. You need a VanZen web account (from an invite).

  1. In VanZen, on Sign in to VanZen, click Sign in. The app shows Waiting for vanzen.ai…
  2. In the sheet, sign in with your username and password, or with a passkey.
  3. The page says Sign in to VanZen for Mac. Click Continue as your account, or Use another account.
  4. When it says You’re signed in. You can go back to VanZen., return to the app.

The sign-in link works for one minute. If it says That sign-in expired. Try again., click Sign in again.

To sign a Mac out from anywhere, open Settings → Account & plan → VanZen for Mac on the web and click Remove next to it.

Updates

VanZen checks for updates when it starts and every few hours. It downloads them in the background, and each one is signed and checked before it installs.

  • When an update is ready you see VanZen (version) is ready. Click Restart to update, or keep working and restart later.
  • To check now, open Settings → About and click Check for updates.
  • Get beta versions in the same place chooses whether you get beta builds.
  • If you see Update VanZen, that version is no longer supported. Click Download the update.

Lock VanZen

Lock VanZen asks for Touch ID or your Mac password before VanZen opens. It is off until you turn it on.

  1. Open Settings → About, and find This Mac.
  2. Turn on Lock VanZen.
  3. Choose Lock when the Mac is idle for: 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 1 hour, or Never.

It also locks when VanZen starts, when your Mac sleeps, and when its screen locks. To get back in, click Unlock and use Touch ID or your Mac password.

Your phone’s chats on the Mac

Chats you start on the Mac stay on the Mac. To see your phone’s chats there too, link the Mac to your phone with the scanner in VanZen on the phone. The Mac Keychain locks synced chats on the Mac. Sync is rolling out during the beta. See Sync and linking.