Dev tools · September 15, 2025
I reverse engineered macOS to allow custom Lock Screen wallpapers
Hi HN, I'm Oskar, a solo indie Mac developer from Sweden. For those in the Mac community, you might know me from my other apps like Sensei and Trim Enabler. For years, I've been frustrated by the lack of customisation of macOS. In particular the Lock Screen which supports animated wallpapers, but only ones provided by Apple. There's never been a way to add your own personal videos. I decided to figure out how to solve this, and the result is Backdrop 2.0. Backdrop is my Live Wallpaper app for Mac, it can play video wallpapers on your desktop. And now it can play on your Lock Screen too. The…
In plain words
Backdrop is a macOS app that enables users to set custom video wallpapers on both their desktop and Lock Screen. Developed by a Swedish indie developer, it works around Apple's restrictions by reverse engineering the macOS wallpaper system to allow personal videos where only Apple-provided animated wallpapers were previously supported. The app is designed for Mac users seeking greater customization of their system's visual appearance.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hi HN, I'm Oskar, a solo indie Mac developer from Sweden. For those in the Mac community, you might know me from my other apps like Sensei and Trim Enabler. For years, I've been frustrated by the lack of customisation of macOS. In particular the Lock Screen which supports animated wallpapers, but only ones provided by Apple. There's never been a way to add your own personal videos. I decided to figure out how to solve this, and the result is Backdrop 2.0. Backdrop is my Live Wallpaper app for Mac, it can play video wallpapers on your desktop. And now it can play on your Lock Screen too. The core technical challenge, as you can imagine, came from trying to do something that Apple otherwise does not allow. However, through extensive reverse engineering of the macOS wallpaper system, I figured out a way to provide Backdrop wallpapers to the system in a way that allows them to play on the lock screen, and even appear in a custom section in System Settings. I'm here all day to answer any questions—especially about the reverse engineering process, the challenges of integrating with macOS, or the experience of being an indie Mac developer. Would love to hear your thoughts and feedback.
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