Head pointer on a Mac: move the pointer with your head, and write without a hand

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Head pointer moves the Mac's pointer as you move your face or head, using the built-in camera or one you connect. Turn it on in System Settings, Accessibility, Pointer Control, Head pointer. Clicks come from Mouse Keys, a switch, a facial expression such as a smile, or Voice Control. Writing still needs words, and the gentlest way to get them is to start a dictation by moving the pointer into a corner of the screen.

I make YapToText, a free dictation app for the Mac, and InputConfig, a free app that turns any button, switch or controller into keys and clicks. I built both because my own hands do not work well. Apple's steps are from its head pointer and Pointer Control guides, read October 9, 2026.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

On this page: 9 sections
  1. Steps
  2. Turn on head pointer
  3. Click with your face, a key or a switch
  4. If the pointer misbehaves
  5. Start a dictation by moving into a corner
  6. Or click Start Dictation
  7. Fix words without aiming at them
  8. The short version
  9. Questions

Steps

  1. Open System Settings, Accessibility, Pointer Control, and turn on Head pointer.
  2. In its options, pick the movement style, speed and camera.
  3. Turn on Alternate pointer actions and assign a click to a facial expression, key or switch.
  4. In InputConfig, draw a small screen region in a spare corner and give it the Right Command key.
  5. Move into the corner and out to start a dictation, talk, then do it again to stop.

Turn on head pointer

  1. Choose Apple menu, System Settings, then click Accessibility in the sidebar.
  2. Go to Motor and click Pointer Control.
  3. Turn on Head pointer, then click the info button next to it to set how the pointer moves, how fast, which switches do what, and which camera to use.

Sit centered in front of the screen. Depending on the option you chose, either turn your face away from the center or move your head in the direction you want. Small movements are enough, and you do not need to move your shoulders. Turn back to center, or stop moving, and the pointer stops.

Click with your face, a key or a switch

Head pointer moves. Something else clicks. In Pointer Control, turn on Alternate pointer actions and click the info button to assign a left click, right click, double click or drag and drop to a keyboard key, an assistive switch, or a facial expression such as a smile or an open mouth.

Assign a switch or key to pause and resume head pointer, too, so you can look away from the screen without the pointer following you.

If the pointer misbehaves

  • It does not move. Check that head pointer is on and not paused, and that the camera is on and facing you. A mouse or trackpad in use pauses it until you stop.
  • It jumps around. Light your face more evenly so the camera can find it.
  • It moves too far or not far enough. Change the pointer speed in head pointer options.
  • It sticks to one edge. Center yourself, and move the display or camera if you need to.
  • It is hard to find. Recalibrate: turn on Use a switch or facial expression to recalibrate, choose the switch, then hold still through the countdown from 3.

Start a dictation by moving into a corner

Clicking a small button with your head takes aim. Moving into a corner of the screen does not, because the edge stops the pointer for you. InputConfig calls this a screen region: an area of the display that acts like a button, pressed when the pointer enters and released when it leaves. It needs no switch and no extra permission to know where the pointer is.

  • You: In InputConfig, add a row with the input type Screen Region and draw a small region tight against a corner you do not use, such as the lower right. Give it a Keyboard Key output of Right Command.
  • InputConfig: Presses Right Command when the pointer enters the region and lets go when it leaves.
  • Check: Click into a text field, move into the corner and back out. YapToText starts listening. Talk, then move into the corner and out again, and the words land at your cursor.

With YapToText's key set to Hold to talk instead, you would talk while the pointer stays in the corner and stop by leaving it. Tap mode is the safer start, because the pointer wanders. Keep the region small so ordinary pointer travel does not set it off, and see InputConfig's screen regions page for drawing and tuning them.

This works by the same design as any other control: InputConfig sends the key, YapToText reads a lone press as a tap. I have not tested a head pointer and a screen region together end to end.

Or click Start Dictation

Without InputConfig, move to the capybara in the menu bar and click it with your facial expression or switch. Its panel opens with Start Dictation at the top, which does the same job as the key. Turn on Auto-stop after silence, in the Recording card of the Dictation page, and the dictation ends on its own after 0.5 to 5 seconds of quiet, so one click is all it takes.

YapToText's menu bar panel: Start Dictation, mode and microphone pickers, Transcribe file, Regenerate and Insert last.
Figure 1. The Start Dictation button is the first thing in the capybara's panel. A head pointer click on it starts a dictation.

Fix words without aiming at them

Right after the words land, make your next dictation one exact phrase within 30 seconds: scratch that takes it back, and replace X with Y swaps one word. For bigger changes, select the text and tap the Quick Edit key, Right Option, then say what to change. Another InputConfig screen region, in a different corner, can send Right Option. Two corners and your voice cover writing and fixing without one keystroke.

The short version

  • Turn it on. System Settings, Accessibility, Pointer Control, Head pointer.
  • Click. Alternate pointer actions: a key, a switch, or a smile or an open mouth.
  • Write. A screen corner from InputConfig that sends Right Command, or Start Dictation in YapToText's menu bar panel.
  • Fix. Scratch that, replace X with Y, or the Quick Edit key on a second corner.

If a step here does not match your Mac, open an issue on GitHub. Every one gets read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

About the author. Ryleigh Newman is a developer whose hands make typing difficult and who dictates every day with YapToText, the app this site describes. Facts about other apps come from their own sites, with the date they were read. More about the project.

Sources

Questions

Does a Mac have head tracking?

Yes. Head pointer, in System Settings, Accessibility, Pointer Control, moves the pointer as you move your face or head, using the Mac's camera.

How do you click with head pointer on a Mac?

Turn on Alternate pointer actions in Pointer Control and assign clicks to a key, a switch, or a facial expression such as a smile.

Why does my head pointer drift or stick?

Usually lighting or position. Light your face evenly, sit centered, adjust the pointer speed, and recalibrate with a switch or facial expression.

Can I type with head pointer?

Yes, by clicking keys on the Accessibility Keyboard, or much faster by starting a dictation from a screen corner or the Start Dictation button.

Can a screen corner start dictation?

With InputConfig, a screen region can press Right Command, which starts YapToText. It follows from how both apps work and has not been tested end to end.