My main complaint with the regular app switcher is it shows all apps, when I'd happily hide most of them and just access them occasionally from the dock.

I use the free Alt-Tab app to hide most apps, works well.

It has screen recording though, bc it creates previews. So best to block it from accessing the network with LuLu, just in case.

Macscope has a feature for this. You can right-click any item in the switcher and choose to hide it. There are two options: hide it just from the main list (it will still appear when you search), or hide it completely from both. You can manage all your hidden items later in Settings > Exclusions. Like here https://screen.studio/share/bcC1YlQR

Regarding privacy, I take that very seriously. All screen-capturing for live previews is done locally and is never stored or transmitted. You can also disable live previews entirely in the settings if you prefer a more minimal view. The app's only network calls are for checking for updates (Sparkle) and validating the license (Lemon Squeezy), never for any user data.

I completely agree with the 'zero-trust' approach (I'm a security-conscious person myself), so I'm planning a tutorial on how to use a firewall like LuLu to block all network access if users want it, just in case. The core app is designed to be fully functional offline—only license activation, automatic updates and some url favicons would be affected. If you interested here is our privacy policy here I describe the usage of each data/permission. https://macscope.app/privacy

I'm also an Alt-tab user and it's amazing. As a ex-windows user, I find it similar to the behavior I'm used to.