Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Oversight VS GlassWire

Compare Oversight VS GlassWire and see what are their differences

Oversight logo Oversight

Get notified when an app accesses your Mac's camera or mic

GlassWire logo GlassWire

Visualize network activity in detail, get notified when new apps access the network, look out for...
  • Oversight Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-12-16
  • GlassWire Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-20

Oversight features and specs

  • Real-Time Monitoring
    Oversight provides real-time monitoring of your Mac's webcam and microphone, alerting you whenever they are activated. This can help protect your privacy by ensuring that you are aware of any potential unauthorized access.
  • User Notifications
    The application notifies users with a pop-up alert whenever the webcam or microphone is activated. This allows users to immediately know when these features are in use, providing peace of mind and control over their devices.
  • Lightweight Application
    Oversight is designed to be lightweight, meaning it won't significantly impact your system's performance or battery life while running in the background.
  • Free to Use
    The application is freely available for download and use, making it accessible to a wide range of users who are concerned about their privacy.

Possible disadvantages of Oversight

  • Limited to Mac OS
    Oversight is only available for Mac users, which limits its audience to those who use Apple computers and excludes Windows or Linux users.
  • Basic Functionality
    While Oversight provides key privacy features, it lacks comprehensive options and advanced customization that might be found in more robust security solutions.
  • Reliance on User Reaction
    Oversight relies on users to respond to the notifications actively. If a user ignores or misses the alert, the application does not take any automatic action to stop unauthorized access.
  • Potential Compatibility Issues
    Updates to macOS may temporarily affect Oversight’s performance or compatibility, requiring quick updates from the developers to address any issues.

GlassWire features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    GlassWire offers a visually appealing and intuitive interface that makes it easy for users to monitor network activity and understand data usage.
  • Comprehensive Network Monitoring
    GlassWire provides detailed insights into the user's network activity, including bandwidth usage, application connections, and geographic data for connected servers.
  • Real-Time Alerts
    The software offers real-time alerts for suspicious activity, helping users quickly respond to potential security threats.
  • Firewall Management
    GlassWire integrates firewall management features, allowing users to block specific applications from accessing the network.
  • Privacy Protection
    The software includes various privacy protection features, such as detecting spyware, malware, and other unwanted software.
  • Historical Data
    Users can access historical network activity data to analyze trends and identify unusual behavior over time.
  • Ease of Installation
    GlassWire is easy to install and set up, making it accessible even to users with minimal technical expertise.

Possible disadvantages of GlassWire

  • Cost
    Although GlassWire offers a free version, many advanced features are locked behind a paywall, which could be a drawback for cost-conscious users.
  • Resource Usage
    Some users have reported that GlassWire can consume a significant amount of system resources, potentially slowing down their computer.
  • Limited Cross-Platform Support
    While GlassWire supports Windows and Android, it lacks support for other popular platforms like macOS and iOS, limiting its usability for some users.
  • Complexity for Novices
    Despite its user-friendly design, some of GlassWire's more advanced features may be overwhelming for users who aren't familiar with network security concepts.
  • Periodic Connectivity Issues
    Some users have reported occasional connectivity issues, including problems with the service not starting or functioning properly.
  • Updating Issues
    There have been occasional reports of problems during the update process, where features may not work as expected or data may seem inconsistent post-update.
  • False Positives
    GlassWire's real-time alerts sometimes generate false positives, causing unnecessary alarms and potential inconvenience.

Oversight videos

Asemblance: Oversight Review

More videos:

  • Review - Asemblance 2: Oversight - Quick Game Review | The Ruby Tuesday
  • Review - 20161208 - Oversight Review of the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program (ID: 105447)

GlassWire videos

Glasswire Firewall Review | Tested against Ransomware

More videos:

  • Review - BEST FIREWALL.... EVER?! // GlassWire Review - Personal Security & Privacy Monitoring
  • Review - Master Your Network With Glasswire 2.0

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Oversight and GlassWire)
Monitoring Tools
11 11%
89% 89
Security & Privacy
100 100%
0% 0
Firewall
0 0%
100% 100
Proxy
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Oversight and GlassWire

Oversight Reviews

We have no reviews of Oversight yet.
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GlassWire Reviews

Best firewall software of 2024
Probably its best feature is the presentation of detailed statistics of network usage broken down by IP/Host, application, and type of network traffic. GlassWire has an ‘Ask to Connect’ mode to allow or deny new app connections. And you can create custom profiles, for instance, when you’re connected to your home WiFi or when you’re at work.
Best Free Firewalls for Windows, Mac & Android in 2024
GlassWire monitors incoming and outgoing traffic to protect against intrusions. It’s among the most beginner-friendly and intuitive firewall programs I’ve seen. The app provides useful graphs that make it easy to tell what each process is doing. Once you’re in the app, you’ll see 5 tabs that highlight the following details:
Source: www.wizcase.com
10 Best Free Firewall Software for Windows in 2024
The software in the list have different priorities, some of them are great for features, security, and privacy, the others have an edge on pricing. For optimal protection and prevention from threats, we would recommend you to go for ZoneAlarm, Comodo Firewall, or Glasswire. If you want visibility and control of your applications, then go for Peerblock, or Tinywall. The best...

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Oversight seems to be a lot more popular than GlassWire. While we know about 21 links to Oversight, we've tracked only 2 mentions of GlassWire. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Oversight mentions (21)

  • Little Snitch: Network Monitor and Application Firewall for macOS
    See also: Patrick Wardle's excellent (and free) Lulu firewall: https://objective-see.org/products/lulu.html. He has a bunch of other excellent macOS security tools: Rei Key - identify keyloggers: https://objective-see.org/products/reikey.html Block Block - get an alert before an auto-start program gets registered: https://objective-see.org/products/blockblock.html Oversight - identify when the mic or camera is... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Picked up this beauty for college.
    Yup good advice! Instead of covering it physically you can use a trustworthy software solution OverSight https://objective-see.org/products/oversight.html. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • My wife said she could never tell if I was on a call in our home office.
    Something like https://objective-see.org/products/oversight.html proves you can detect applications that open a microphone session on macOS. Could set something up that listens to that, filters by process and toggles it on/off based on active microphone sessions. Source: about 2 years ago
  • What is this SUS orange dot????
    You can use Oversight to do that, but I'm a little confused by the location of the dot. Which OS version are you running? Source: over 2 years ago
  • Why is my camera coming on every ~30 minutes? MBP-16" 2021
    I am using OverSight ( https://objective-see.org/products/oversight.html ). Source: over 2 years ago
View more

GlassWire mentions (2)

  • What is the use of an Av when it can be bypassed easily?
    Don’t use netstat use Glasswire as it will help to monitor your network and let you know to where your data is being sent, including the file/service which is sending it. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Bandwidth - 20p-40p per day passive.
    I run the app behind pihole with sinkhole but if your looking to monitor the traffic it sends to see if its any good for you use something like glasswire.com The free version will allow you to monitor the outgoing traffic. Source: almost 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Oversight and GlassWire, you can also consider the following products

Micro Snitch - Micro Snitch is an ultra-light menu bar application that operates inconspicuously. It helps figuring out if someone’s spying on you.

TinyWall - Lightweight and non-intrusive firewall

AppZen - Artificial Intelligence for Real-Time T&E Fraud Detection

Windows 10 Firewall Control - Windows 10 Firewall Control: simple and exhaustive solution for applications network activity controlling and monitoring.

Camcovr - Stylish webcam covers that protect your privacy

Windows Firewall Control - Windows Firewall Control is not the built in firewall system in the Windows operating systems.