I recently found out that my macOS app, LookAway[0], was cracked and uploaded to a popular Chinese website distributing pirated macOS apps.

It's extremely frustrating, specially because I’ve worked hard to build the app into something meaningful, and it’s now averaging over 1000 daily active users.

I do realize that piracy is hard to stop entirely, but I’d like to learn from your experiences on how to make the app more difficult to crack (at least the future versions).

Currently, I use license keys for activation and have a server-side verification process in place, but it seems that wasn’t enough.

Has anyone here dealt with a similar situation? What strategies or tools have you found effective in combating piracy for mac apps? Is it worth the effort to invest heavily in anti-crack measures, or should I just focus on improving the product and converting paying customers?

Would love to hear your thoughts, insights, or any tools you’d recommend!

Thanks in advance!

[0]: https://lookaway.app