Changelog

This update brings your breaks to the lock screen – a live break status widget on your Mac’s lock screen, and Live Activities on your paired iPhone:

• New Lock Screen widget: if a break is running while your Mac is locked, a glass pill under the clock shows the break’s name and a live countdown – and tells you if a break finished while you were away (requires macOS Tahoe)
• New Lock Screen settings page with a live preview, plus an option to also show the widget over the screensaver
• Breaks synced to your paired iPhone now appear as a Live Activity on its Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, with the break’s name and icon
• Picking break types for iPhone notifications and automations is now a row of toggles instead of a menu that closed after every selection
• Fixed custom breaks being labeled “Short break” in a few places
• Fixed the menu bar menu responding slowly to hovers when opened over the Quick Look panel

Enjoy the update! As always, if you have any feedback or face any issues, feel free to reach out at [email protected].

This update makes LookAway fully accessible – VoiceOver, complete keyboard navigation, and every macOS accessibility setting are now supported across the app – and adds a fairer scoring rule for skipped breaks:

• LookAway now works end-to-end with VoiceOver: every control is properly labeled, break screens announce themselves, and moments like a break ending or the screen about to lock are announced
• Added keyboard support throughout the app
• Reduced Motion is now respected everywhere
• Increase Contrast and Differentiate Without Color are also respected: text on animated backgrounds becomes easier to read, and selections gain checkmarks so color is never the only cue
• Skipping a break no longer counts against your score if you take a full break within 5 minutes of the skip
• Reduced the discrepancy between your total screen time and per-app usage breakdown totals
• Fixed the score in the menu bar lagging one update behind
• Fixed the timer occasionally getting stuck on “Dragging” after the mouse was released
• Fixed the Remove button in the break message editor being able to delete a message from the wrong list
• Fixed plugging in a display or waking mid-break restarting the auto-lock countdown

Enjoy the update! As always, if you have any feedback or face any issues, feel free to reach out at [email protected].

This update redesigns how LookAway handles natural breaks, adds on-demand breaks, brings three new animated break backgrounds, and includes a big round of performance and reliability fixes:

• Stepping away from your Mac no longer triggers a blocking dialog when you return. LookAway now quietly makes the right call on its own and shows a brief toast with an undo option – and if it’s obvious you never left, it stays completely silent.
• Added a new menu bar option where you can see how your last away time was handled and fix it if LookAway got it wrong.
• Advance skipping is back: skip an upcoming break ahead of time, with a configurable daily limit.
• You can now start a break whenever you want, at any length you want. Access it from the menu bar, keyboard shortcut, or AppleScript.
• Added three new animated break backgrounds: Slipstream, Fireflies, and Topography.
• The menu bar options have been reorganized, making it easier to find common actions.
• Planned breaks you miss are now marked as ignored instead of counting as skipped.
• Fixed the app freezing (spinning beachball) when a browser was slow to respond during website checks.
• Significantly reduced CPU usage while LookAway sits idle in the background, for better battery life.
• Fixed the idle pause silently not working while a planned break was coming up.
• Fixed office hours occasionally turning back on right after being stopped.
• Fixed hearing two chimes when a planned break came due at the same time as a reminder.
• Fixed notification toasts sometimes appearing in the middle of the screen.
• Fixed FaceTime calls showing up as “avconferenced” in Smart Pause.

Enjoy the update! As always, if you have any feedback or face any issues, feel free to reach out at [email protected].

This update fixes some small bugs:

• Fixed the new progressive blur showing a gray slab when Reduce Transparency is turned on
• Fixed break screen not resizing to the new screen orientation when a MacBook in clamshell mode is disconnected from an external screen
• Fixed a rare case where the countdown would survive session restart and start counting down from total session length

If you face any bugs or have any feedback, do not hesitate to reach out!

This update contains visual enhancements and bug fixes

• Notifications now have a progressive blur around them on macOS 26 (can be toggled off)
• Wellness Reminders now stay on top and centered even while navigating through Mission Control
• Cursor countdown now shows the upcoming break name instead of generic “Starting break”
• Fixed Timer Style dropdown bug where it the top item would get highlighted every second
• Fixed menu bar text not updating to the next event name in case of contiguous calendar events
• Fixed snoozed planned break starting immediately after coming back from idle

As always, if you face any issues or have any feedback, don’t hesitate to reach out!

This update contains a few more bug fixes and a couple enhancements

• Break screen is now hardened and doesn’t allow peeking into open apps while navigating through Mission Control
• Added a keyboard shortcut option to start a short break immediately
• Fixed close button in notifications not working on macOS 13.0
• Fixed a rare bug that caused LookAway to not automatically start according to configured office hours
• Fixed break reminder showing the countdown with a 1-sec delay

As always, if you face any issues or have any feedback, don’t hesitate to reach out!

This update fixes a few intermittent but annoying bugs:

• Fixed an issue where some browsers could not be enabled for stats due to a race condition
• Fixed idle time not being honored after the breaks got over automatically

As always, if you face any issues or have any feedback, don’t hesitate to reach out!

This update adds more control over Smart Pause, makes screen sharing detection more reliable, and fixes a couple of planned break issues:

• You can now choose which apps are excluded from video detection. Common video editors and music apps (like Final Cut, DaVinci Resolve, and Spotify) are added automatically if they’re installed, and you can remove them or add your own.
• Made screen recording and sharing detection more reliable, so your breaks pause correctly while you’re recording or sharing your screen.
• Snooze limit notifications are now off by default – you can turn them back on in Settings if you’d like the reminders.
• Fixed “Start break” in Quick Look starting a regular break instead of the planned break shown as next.
• Fixed snoozing a planned break from the break screen trimming a little time off it – it now keeps its full duration.
• Other small improvements and enhancements.

As always, if you face any issues or have any feedback, don’t hesitate to reach out!

This update is a small one focused on fixing a few issues from 2.2.0:

• Fixed an issue where smart pause could get stuck thinking you were still typing (or dragging), keeping your breaks paused even after you’d stopped.
• Fixed the “+1m” snooze on the break reminder skipping the next reminder – it now reappears before your break as expected.
• Fixed planned breaks scheduled just after midnight not showing up as the next break until the day rolled over.
• Fixed break stats occasionally showing a cut-off duration like “3-” instead of “30s”.
• Other small improvements and enhancements.

As always, if you face any issues or have any feedback, don’t hesitate to reach out!

This update adds Planned Breaks, improves smart pausing, and fixes a few small issues:

• Added Planned Breaks: breaks that happen at a fixed time you choose, like a lunch pause or an afternoon walk. Set them up under Settings → Screen Breaks → Planned breaks.
• Improved meeting detection so breaks resume more reliably after a call ends.
• The countdown icon in the break reminder now reflects your current activity.
• Custom break durations can now be set in hours.
• Skipping a break no longer shows a warning, so it is quicker to dismiss.
• Restored the edit menu in custom break messages so you can copy and paste.
• Long breaks can now be dismissed with a double Escape.
• Fixed a few licensing issues.
• Cleaned up the menu bar menu by removing some extra items.
• Other small improvements and enhancements.

If you face any issues or have any feedback, don’t hesitate to reach out!

This update improves smart pausing, adds more control over reminders, and fixes a few small issues:

• LookAway now treats dictation similar to typing and pauses if dictation is active when a break is less than 10 seconds away. This gives you enough time to finish your thoughts without being interrupted mid-sentence. It works out of the box with many popular dictation apps, and you can choose your own apps under Settings → Smart Pause → Dictation Apps.
• Added a new Wellness Reminders setting to hide reminders during screen sharing or screen recording.
• Added a new Screen Breaks setting to hide the “x snoozes left” notification.
• Fixed an issue where clicking the snooze buttons in a break reminder would sometimes open Quick Look.
• Fixed a rare bug where the font editor window could open and not go away.
• Other small improvements and enhancements.

If you face any issues or have any feedback, don’t hesitate to reach out!

This update contains the following fixes:

• When no snooze limit is set, the snooze message no longer appears
• Volume settings now have the same number of adjustments
• Wavebox is now supported for website usage stats
• When LookAway is paused due to screen sharing/recording, menu bar now shows “Sharing” instead of “Recording”.
• When menu bar display setting is set to “icon and text”, the “Stopped” state now only shows the icon to save space.

If you face any issues or have any feedback, don’t hesitate to reach out!

This update contains the following changes:

• Stats can now show website usage along with app usage. Go to Settings → Stats to enable it.
• You can limit snoozes per session in addition to per day. Go to Settings → Screen Breaks to configure.
• Exclude Endel app from video detection
• Optimize CPU usage

If you face any issues or have any feedback, don’t hesitate to reach out!

This update contains the following improvements:

• Snooze options can now be accessed from the menu bar context menu (right-click)
• Added support for iPad sync

If you face any issues or have any feedback, don’t hesitate to reach out!

LookAway 2.0 is one of the biggest updates to the app yet. This release brings a full redesign inspired by macOS Tahoe, a brand new way to understand your screen habits, and a number of improvements that make breaks feel smoother, calmer, and harder to ignore.

New

• Added Screen Score, a simple daily score that reflects how well you stick to healthy screen habits.
• Added a new Stats dashboard with total screen time, breaks taken, longest session without a break, median session length, and app usage during screen sessions.
• Added Quick Look, a redesigned menu bar panel that shows your current session, Screen Score, and quick actions.
• Added a keyboard shortcut for Quick Look so you can open it anytime.
• Added animated break backgrounds for a calmer, more immersive break experience.
• Added postpone limits so you can cap how many times breaks can be postponed each day.

Improvements

• Redesigned the app for macOS Tahoe with a new Liquid Glass look and feel.
• Updated all app sounds to feel softer, gentler, and more calming.
• Added more customization options for the break screen.
• Wellness reminders now support configurable size and position.
• The menu bar icon now shows paused and stopped states even when text is disabled.
• Restarting LookAway now resumes your previous session instead of starting a new one.

Changes

• Replaced Skip Break in notifications and the menu bar with a +15 minute snooze option.

Thanks for using LookAway. If you run into any bugs, have feedback, or want to request a feature, feel free to get in touch at [email protected].

This update contains the following fixes and improvements:

1. Change the idle controls naming to be more accurate
2. Add support for beta updates. Go to Settings → General → Release Channel and switch to Beta if you’d like to access 2.0 beta updates (coming soon).

If you face any issues or have any feedback, let me know!

This update contains the following fixes and improvements:

1. Add an option to disable the “Did you take a break” notification in Settings → Smart Pause
2. Fix a bug where LookAway starts automatically after an hour
3. Fix excessive CPU usage and freezes when a microphone is added or removed
4. Fix video & meeting detection falsely triggering from QuickLook extension

If you face any issues or have any feedback, do let me know!

This update contains the following fixes and improvements:

1. Fix a bug where meeting detection would kick in even after it’s turned off
2. Calendar Events Smart Pause: Added an option to only pause for accepted events

If you face any issues or have any feedback, do let me know!

This update contains the following fixes and improvements:

1. Fix a bug where the break reminder and countdown disappears when you go idle
2. Added support for frequencies as low as 10 seconds in Wellness Reminders
3. Added preparations for 2.0

If you face any issues or have any feedback, do let me know!

This update contains the following fixes and improvements:

1. Fix a bug where the “Settings” button in smart pause notifications did not work
2. Add a “Don’t Show Again” button to smart pause notifications

If you face any issues or have any feedback, do let me know!

This update contains the following fixes and improvements:

1. Office Hours do not change anymore when you move to a different timezone.
2. A custom duration for the reminder visibility can now be set from settings.
3. Fix a bug where, for some users, LookAway would pause itself momentarily.
4. A potential fix for the bug where none of the shortcuts appear under Automation settings.

If you face any issues or have any feedback, do let me know!

This update contains the following enhancements and fixes:

• New icon (for macOS 26)
• New Settings UI (for macOS 26)
• Liquid Glass on cursor nudges (for macOS 26)
• Fix a visual glitch in cursor nudges

If you face any issues, don’t hesitate to reach out!

This update contains the following enhancements and fixes:

• Added a new compact design for break reminder notifications. The compact design shows the most essential information, and the rest of the information is visible on hover. You can switch it from the Break Schedule settings.
• Added flexible scheduling options to office hours. This lets you customize the office hours for each day separately. Head over to Break Schedule → Office Hours to set it up!

If you face any issues, don’t hesitate to reach out!

This update packs a ton of performance & stability improvements, including the following fixes:

• Fixed a bug where, in a multi-monitor setup, the break screen would show the default wallpaper instead of the actual wallpaper on secondary screens.
• Fixed a bug where postponing a break failed via Raycast when the countdown was visible
• Quick screen lock and unlock doesn’t cause the timer to restart anymore

If you face any issues, don’t hesitate to reach out!

This quick update patches a bug which caused an error while generating a pairing code for some users.

LookAway now syncs with your iPhone to block distracting apps and websites during breaks. When your Mac takes a break, your phone does too – keeping you truly unplugged.

<img width=“1920” height=“1440” alt=“image” src=“https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/8a614bd8-a047-4663-94da-976ab6df1edb” />

To get started, please download LookAway Mirror on the iPhone. It’s a companion app for your iPhone that syncs with LookAway on your Mac. When your Mac goes on break, your iPhone automatically blocks distracting websites and non-essential apps. No more mindlessly scrolling through social media when you should be resting your eyes.

The setup is incredibly simple:

• Update to LookAway 1.14
• Download LookAway Mirror on your iPhone
• Open Settings → iPhone Sync on your Mac and click “Pair a new iPhone”
• Enter the pairing code on your phone

That’s it! Your devices are now in sync.

If you face any issues, don’t hesitate to reach out!

This update contains the following improvements and fixes:

• Fixed a bug where the settings window doesn’t open on top
• Fixed a bug where if smart pause is active and screen is locked, then LookAway doesn’t restart on screen unlock
• Break screen has been optimized further
• Other minor bug fixes and performance improvements

This update contains the following improvements and fixes:

• Fixed a bug where the first break fade-in was jittery for some users
• Misc performance optimizations and stability improvements

This update contains the following improvements and fixes:

• Add keyboard shortcuts options for starting and stopping LookAway. You can also do this via the Raycast extension.
• Potential fix for the wallpaper rendering bug for some users
• You can now optionally hide the calendar event name in menu bar during Smart Pause. Head over to Calendar detection settings to toggle it off.
• Make overtime nudge more dynamic and less repetitive

This update contains the following improvements and fixes:

• Notifications can now be swiped away
• Overtime nudge is now disabled by default. You can enable it from Settings → Break Schedule → Overtime Nudge
• Now you can choose between camera or microphone for meeting detection. Go to Settings → Smart Pause → Meeting Options → Detection method to change it
• Improve break schedule settings structure
• Calendar event smart pause doesn’t show the event name in the menu bar anymore
• Fix crashes for some users

Changelog

• Fixed: Overtime nudge will now not appear in between consecutive pauses
• Fixed: Overtime nudge would sometimes get stuck in one place
• Improved: ARK (by Rogue Amoeba) will not trigger meeting detection anymore
• Improved: Make long breaks setup easy to understand

LookAway 1.13.1 – Changelog

• This quick patch fixes transparency of notifications when “Reduce transparency” is turned on in Accessibility settings.
• There’s also a new toggle in Overtime nudge settings to disable it when LookAway is paused.

LookAway 1.13 – Changelog

New features & Improvements:

• Added Apple Calendar integration. LookAway now auto-pauses during events or focus blocks. You can choose which calendars to monitor.
• Fully redesigned Settings page with a more organized, multi-level layout.
• Redesigned break nudges and notifications with smoother animations.
• Added “Time since last break” indicators:
  • Menu bar now shows minutes without a break
  • Break reminders display how long you’ve been working
  • Cursor nudges appear when you’ve overworked without a break
• Improved idle time detection with smarter resume vs reset decisions. If unsure, LookAway asks you directly.
• Added new sound options.
• Automations can now be toggled off without deleting them.
• “Manage License” link now opens a license dashboard where you can deactivate devices, add seats, or renew updates.
• Major performance boost: uses less than 1% CPU and under 100MB of RAM when idle.

Fixes:

• Fixed minor glitches in animation and notification rendering.
• Smoothed out UI transitions in various parts of the app.
• General polish and stability improvements across the board.

I hope you like this update! If you run into any issues, please send a report with logs, and I’ll patch them as soon as possible.

Big things are coming soon – stay tuned!

LookAway 1.12.4 – Changelog

• Fixes an issue where licenses starting with “LOOKAWAY-” would need to be entered again after every restart

LookAway 1.12.3 – Changelog

• For meeting detection, virtual mics can now be enabled
• The mic list in meeting detection options now updates in realtime
• Screen recording detection has been optimized further
• Fixed overall high cpu usage in some cases

LookAway 1.12.2 – Changelog

• Fixes an issue where the break screen would not go away if the break was snoozed at exactly the same time it appeared
• The hover interaction of break reminder has been reverted. It now reveals snooze options on hovering the notification, rather than just the Snooze trigger button.
• The screen recording detection has been optimized
• Custom break screen messages character limit has been increased to 256 from 128

This quick patch fixes the dropdown in the break reminder as well as the break screen to match the overall aesthetics of the app.

Previously

New features & Improvements:

• Meeting detection has been revamped. You can now exclude apps from triggering meeting detection. Also, we’ve removed camera detection which was the source of 99% of false positives.
• Added snooze (+1 min, +5 min) in addition to skip in the break screen.
• Double escape behavior can now be configured from shortcuts settings to perform snooze instead of skip
• LookAway now waits for you to finish dragging (in addition to typing) before showing a break
• Work scheduling now allows the end time to be past midnight (for the night owls)
• Wellness reminders now reset the timers after a break (can be toggled off in the settings)

Fixes:

• Fixed Sequoia/animated wallpapers not showing up in the break screen
• Fixed a crash when contact button was clicked without a configured default mail app
• Fixed a bug where going idle during macOS focus filter pause would show a negative countdown

I hope you like this update! If you run into any issues, please send a report with logs, and I’ll patch them as soon as possible.

The next few updates are going to be major updates - stay tuned!

LookAway 1.12 – Changelog

New features & Improvements:

• Meeting detection has been revamped. You can now exclude apps from triggering meeting detection. Also, we’ve removed camera detection which was the source of 99% of false positives.
• Added snooze (+1 min, +5 min) in addition to skip in the break screen.
• Double escape behavior can now be configured from shortcuts settings to perform snooze instead of skip
• LookAway now waits for you to finish dragging (in addition to typing) before showing a break
• Work scheduling now allows the end time to be past midnight (for the night owls)
• Wellness reminders now reset the timers after a break (can be toggled off in the settings)

Fixes:

• Fixed Sequoia/animated wallpapers not showing up in the break screen
• Fixed a crash when contact button was clicked without a configured default mail app
• Fixed a bug where going idle during macOS focus filter pause would show a negative countdown

I hope you like this update! If you run into any issues, please send a report with logs, and I’ll patch them as soon as possible.

The next few updates are going to be major updates - stay tuned!

LookAway 1.11.3 – Changeslog

Improvements & Fixes:

• Added support for controlling LookAway with AppleScript. For available commands, checkout the docs: https://lookaway.app/docs/applescript/
• Link to the documentation has been added to the menu bar
• Fixed a bug where breaks cycle was not resetting properly on the next day
• Fixed a bug which made the Onboarding look terrible in light theme

I hope you love this update! If you run into any issues, please send a report with logs, and I’ll patch them as soon as possible.

The next few updates are going to be major updates - stay tuned!

LookAway 1.11.2 – Changelog

Improvements & Fixes:

• Fixed a bug where long breaks were not triggering for some users
• Fixed the formatting of remaining time in the menu bar if duration is more than 1 hour
• Added an option to toggle early end of breaks in Rest mode settings

I hope you love this update! If you run into any issues, please send a report with logs, and I’ll patch them as soon as possible.

LookAway 1.11.1 – Changelog

Improvements & Fixes:

• Fixed a bug where unlocking the screen would restart LookAway
• Fixed the countdown format when LookAway is paused for more than 1 hour
• Fixed a bug where ending a break early was possible even after hiding the skip button
• Fixed a bug where long breaks cycle would not reset the next day
• Added a setting to adjust wellness reminders volume
• When setting custom frequency for wellness reminders, you can now choose hh:mm:ss instead of just mm:ss.

I hope you love this update! If you run into any issues, please send a report with logs, and I’ll patch them as soon as possible.

LookAway 1.11 – Changelog

New Features:

• Automations – Run AppleScripts or Shortcuts when a break starts or ends.
• Focus Filters – Auto-pause LookAway when a Focus Mode is active.
• Screen Recording Detection (Beta) – Pauses LookAway when screen recording or sharing is detected (not compatible with QuickTime Player yet).

Improvements & Fixes:

• Auto-Lock Screen During Breaks – Option to lock the screen automatically when a break starts.
• End Break Option for Longer Breaks – Replaces “Skip Break” with “End Break” when sufficient rest is detected.
• Disable Dimming for Wellness Reminders – New setting to prevent screen dimming for posture/blink reminders.
• Faster Video Playback Detection – Improved speed of detecting video playback.
• App Refocus Fix – Fixed an issue where the previous app wouldn’t regain focus after a break.
• Improved Break Countdown Design – The break countdown has been redesigned for better clarity and aesthetics…

I hope you love this update! If you run into any issues, please send a report with logs, and I’ll patch them as soon as possible.

This update fixes a minor issue where locking and unlocking the screen in the middle of a high-engagement activity would show a negative countdown.

Thank you for the bug reports! Stay tuned for v1.11 coming out in a couple of weeks with some amazing new features!

This updated adds the following improvements

• Video playback detection can now work even if the apps playing video are in the background. Head over to Focus Mode Settings → High engagement activities to toggle this.
• Wellness Reminders can now be configured to be displayed only on the main screen and during pauses. Head over to Wellness Reminder settings to configure this.
• Spotify doesn’t kick off video playback detection anymore.
• Fixed an issue where, in some cases, the break screen and wellness reminders would not show over fullscreen apps.
• Fixed an issue where clicking on the dock icon of LookAway would open an empty window.
• Other minor UX improvements.

Thank you so much for reporting these bugs + sending over the logs to help me debug these issues quickly. Your patience and support is highly appreciated.

This updated adds the following minor improvements

• Video playback detection now excludes video editing apps (Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, etc) from pausing LookAway
• Minor bugs related to manual pausing

Thank you so much for reporting these bugs + sending over the logs to help me debug these issues quickly. Your patience and support is highly appreciated.

This updated patches the following bugs introduced in the 1.10 update:

• Break countdown showing negative numbers
• Deep focus apps and gaming detection settings requiring a restart of the app for the changes to take effect
• Reminder visibility duration setting requiring a restart of the app for the changes to take effect
• Wellness reminders showing up during high-engagement activities in rare cases
• Break reminder appearing during high-engagement activities in rare cases

Thank you so much for reporting these bugs + sending over the logs to help me debug these issues quickly. Your patience and support is highly appreciated.

Previously in 1.10.0:

New Features

• Wellness Reminders: LookAway now has posture and blink reminders. Head over to the Settings to enable and configure them.
• Added a feature where if you’re in the middle of typing while a break is due, it will now be postponed until you finish typing. It has to be enabled in the Rest Mode settings.
• High-engagement activities:
  • Added deep focus apps detection (you can select the apps)
  • Added fullscreen game detection (automatic)
  • Enhanced video detection to only work when the app playing the video is frontmost. (You can now have Youtube music videos running in the background while working and it won’t detect it as a video playback).
• Added option to hide the menu bar icon
• Made break delay after activities configurable
• The break reminder notification duration can now be configured
• Revamped onboarding experience
• Redesigned settings

Fixes

• Fixed Plex not getting detected by video playback detector
• Reduced memory + idle CPU usage (pretty much 0% now)
• Fixed a memory leak
• Fixed 10s countdown appearing at the corner of the screen for a second
• Fixed windows not centering properly
• Fixed a bug where the wrong app gets in focus after dismissing the notifications
• Fixed idle detection when a video is playing
• Fixed typos and minor UI fixes

Hope you enjoy the update. There are also a couple of fun easter eggs for you to find.

Please let me know if you find any bugs or face any issues. As always, thanks for all your feedback and patience.

This quick patch fixes a bug where, in rare cases, the break would show up in the middle of a high-engagement activity.

Previously in 1.10.0:

New Features

• Wellness Reminders: LookAway now has posture and blink reminders. Head over to the Settings to enable and configure them.
• Added a feature where if you’re in the middle of typing while a break is due, it will now be postponed until you finish typing. It has to be enabled in the Rest Mode settings.
• High-engagement activities:
  • Added deep focus apps detection (you can select the apps)
  • Added fullscreen game detection (automatic)
  • Enhanced video detection to only work when the app playing the video is frontmost. (You can now have Youtube music videos running in the background while working and it won’t detect it as a video playback).
• Added option to hide the menu bar icon
• Made break delay after activities configurable
• The break reminder notification duration can now be configured
• Revamped onboarding experience
• Redesigned settings

Fixes

• Fixed Plex not getting detected by video playback detector
• Reduced memory + idle CPU usage (pretty much 0% now)
• Fixed a memory leak
• Fixed 10s countdown appearing at the corner of the screen for a second
• Fixed windows not centering properly
• Fixed a bug where the wrong app gets in focus after dismissing the notifications
• Fixed idle detection when a video is playing
• Fixed typos and minor UI fixes

Hope you enjoy the update. There are also a couple of fun easter eggs for you to find.

Please let me know if you find any bugs or face any issues. As always, thanks for all your feedback and patience.

Hello, welcome to the biggest LookAway update since the launch. I’ve added a number of most requested features and bug fixes. The core of the app has also been rewritten from scratch to make it even more stable and performant.

New Features

• Wellness Reminders: LookAway now has posture and blink reminders. Head over to the Settings to enable and configure them.
• Added a feature where if you’re in the middle of typing while a break is due, it will now be postponed until you finish typing. It has to be enabled in the Rest Mode settings.
• High-engagement activities:
  • Added deep focus apps detection (you can select the apps)
  • Added fullscreen game detection (automatic)
  • Enhanced video detection to only work when the app playing the video is frontmost. (You can now have Youtube music videos running in the background while working and it won’t detect it as a video playback).
• Added option to hide the menu bar icon
• Made break delay after activities configurable
• The break reminder notification duration can now be configured
• Revamped onboarding experience
• Redesigned settings

Fixes

• Fixed Plex not getting detected by video playback detector
• Reduced memory + idle CPU usage (pretty much 0% now)
• Fixed a memory leak
• Fixed 10s countdown appearing at the corner of the screen for a second
• Fixed windows not centering properly
• Fixed a bug where the wrong app gets in focus after dismissing the notifications
• Fixed idle detection when a video is playing
• Fixed typos and minor UI fixes

Hope you enjoy the update. There are also a couple of fun easter eggs for you to find.

Please let me know if you find any bugs or face any issues. As always, thanks for all your feedback and patience.

This update brings some exciting new features and important fixes:

• Custom backgrounds – You can now personalize the break screen with your own images or choose from a curated selection of gradients.
• Custom sounds – Customize the sounds that play when a break starts and ends. Choose from the included sound options (Tibetan bells, flute, and more) or upload your own audio files for a personalized experience.
• Sound volume - You can now also change the volume of the sounds from the customization settings page.
• Idle detection – Previously, LookAway would prevent idle detection during video playback. This has been fixed.
• Cooldown after meetings and videos – The cooldown period after a meeting or video playback has been extended from 20 seconds to 1 minute, giving you more breathing room before your next break.
• Break countdown – You can now set the break countdown to 5 or 10 seconds based on your preference.
• License update expiry fix – When you upgrade your license, the update expiry date now reflects correctly in the manage license window.

I’m constantly improving LookAway with your feedback in mind, so stay tuned for more updates soon! If you encounter any issues or have suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Your emails always make my day! 💙

This update has the following changes:

• Updated licensing - Licenses are now tied to the device rather than the users. So you can now use the same license even if you have multiple users on the same device. After updating, your license will automatically be re-activated. This also fixes the issues where the license would randomly get deactivated (sorry about that)!
• Export logs - When you press the contact button, you now have an option to export the logs. This will help with a faster resolution of your issue.
• New updates in menu bar - Whenever there’s a new version available, you’ll now see it in the menu bar dropdown.

There are new features that I’ll be adding in the upcoming updates, so stay tuned! If you do find more bugs, please let me know. Thank you for all the sweet emails <3

This update has the following changes:

• Custom break screen messages: Now you can add your own text for short and long breaks. You can add as many messages as you like and LookAway will automatically show a random message from the list.
• Fixed a bug where idle time reset and screen lock reset wouldn’t work if idle time pause was disabled.

If you do find more bugs, please let me know. Thank you for all the sweet emails <3

The update fixes a few annoying bugs affecting some users:

• Fixed: Sometimes the break window would appear immediately after a meeting/video ended and not disappear even after the timer goes to 0
• Fixed: On closing the notifications, LookAway would sometimes switch to a different app than what was active before closing the notification
• Fixed: A few users were put back on trial even after activating their license (causing them to reset it and activate it again)

The next few updates will bring in more features and customization options. If you do find more bugs, please let me know and I’ll prioritize them first. Thank you for all the sweet emails <3

This update fixes an issue where at the start of the workday, the break reminder notification displays the “time without break” incorrectly.

This update potentially fixes an issue where the license validation fails at random. If it happens again, please reach out to [email protected]

This update contains some bug fixes and improvements:

• Fixes a bug for some users where the license window appears randomly even when the app is activated
• Fixes an issue where connecting an external monitor in the middle of the break wouldn’t resize the break screen properly
• Reduces the RAM usage massively + fixes some memory leaks

This update contains some bug fixes and improvements:

• Fixes a bug where some icons were not rendering properly
• The break reminder now shows the “total time without break” when you exceed your set focus time, regardless of whether you’ve skipped any breaks or not
• LookAway won’t consider you idle when you’re watching a video

Finally, this update also changes how updates and licensing is handled. It also adds a link in the license manager to renew your license and get another year of updates.

This fixes a bug in the last release where changing the notification setting for video playback detection didn’t have any effect.

Previously:

This release contains some of the most requested features:

Video playback detection:

This feature is currently in beta, so it’s disabled by default. You can enable it by going to the Focus Mode settings and turning on “Pause when watching a video” toggle.

Now whenever you watch a video on Youtube, VLC or any other app or website, LookAway will not suggest any breaks. No more interruptions.

Note: Since it’s in beta, there may be some false positives or cases where it doesn’t work at all. If you face any of this, please reach out with any information you can share to help me reproduce it.

Better notifications

The break reminder now shows the number of breaks you’ve skipped, and the total time you’ve been active without any breaks.

All the notifications have also been redesigned to be more compact and better looking.

Break countdown

You’ll now see a 5s countdown near your cursor when the rest mode is about to activate. With this, you will never be caught off-guard.

This can be disabled in the settings.

And more

There are some more enhancements and bug fixes in this release:

• More keyboard shortcut options - “Start a long break” and “Add 1 minute to the timer”.
• The sequence of weekdays in work schedule settings now respects your local settings.
• Bleeding of desktop in break screen edges has been fixed.
• Fixed an issue where, in some cases, internal microphones were detected as virtual for meeting detection.

Hope you enjoy this update. I have a lot more planned for future releases so stay tuned, and feel free to reach out with any feature requests you have or issues you may have encountered.

This release contains some of the most requested features:

Video playback detection:

This feature is currently in beta, so it’s disabled by default. You can enable it by going to the Focus Mode settings and turning on “Pause when watching a video” toggle.

Now whenever you watch a video on Youtube, VLC or any other app or website, LookAway will not suggest any breaks. No more interruptions.

Note: Since it’s in beta, there may be some false positives or cases where it doesn’t work at all. If you face any of this, please reach out with any information you can share to help me reproduce it.

Better notifications

The break reminder now shows the number of breaks you’ve skipped, and the total time you’ve been active without any breaks.

All the notifications have also been redesigned to be more compact and better looking.

Break countdown

You’ll now see a 5s countdown near your cursor when the rest mode is about to activate. With this, you will never be caught off-guard.

This can be disabled in the settings.

And more

There are some more enhancements and bug fixes in this release:

• More keyboard shortcut options - “Start a long break” and “Add 1 minute to the timer”.
• The sequence of weekdays in work schedule settings now respects your local settings.
• Bleeding of desktop in break screen edges has been fixed.
• Fixed an issue where, in some cases, internal microphones were detected as virtual for meeting detection.

Hope you enjoy this update. I have a lot more planned for future releases so stay tuned, and feel free to reach out with any feature requests you have or issues you may have encountered.

This update fixes a licensing related bug

This update adds the following bug fixes and improvements:

• Fixed: Crash for some users as soon as the break appears

Previously in 1.6.0:

• Added: Scheduling - You can now add a work schedule and LookAway will only be active during those hours. To activate it, go to Settings -> General.

• Added: Custom duration for everything - You can choose custom duration for things like idle time thresholds, break reminder, etc.

• Fixed: Any camera/mic connected after launching LookAway will now be detected properly.

Thank you so much for sending us so many appreciation mails, bug reports, and feature requests. If you’d like to get in touch, send us an email at [email protected].

This update adds the following bug fixes and improvements:

• Added: Scheduling - You can now add a work schedule and LookAway will only be active during those hours. To activate it, go to Settings -> General.

• Added: Custom duration for everything - You can choose custom duration for things like idle time thresholds, break reminder, etc.

• Fixed: Any camera/mic added after launching LookAway will now be detected properly.

Thank you so much for sending us so many appreciation mails, bug reports, and feature requests. If you’d like to get in touch, send us an email at [email protected].

This update adds the following bug fixes and improvements:

• Added: More options in the “Pause for a fixed time” menu

• Added: A toggle in the meeting detection options to disable the behavior where meeting duration is counted as focus time

• Added: Long breaks can now be triggered after every short break

• Fixed: Opting out of anonymous usage sharing now stops any connection to Mixpanel or Sentry. Previously, crash reports were still being sent.

• Fixed: Misc small bugs

Thank you so much for sending us so many appreciation mails, bug reports, and feature requests. LookAway will always keep on improving with your support.

This update adds the following bug fixes and improvements:

• Added: In Meeting Detection, you can now exclude certain microphones and cameras that shouldn’t trigger this feature. We’re also working on adding support for excluding apps and it should be available soon.
• Added: The pre-break notification now always shows “Start this break now” button.

Thanks for sending us bug reports and feature requests. We are currently working on all your suggestions so please expect another update soon with more improvements.

This update adds the following bug fixes and improvements:

• Fixed: The long break cycle not getting reset correctly for many users
• Fixed: The custom time selector now limits the values entered correctly
• Added: Now your mac won’t automatically go to sleep during long breaks (it will still do it if you lock your screen manually during a break)

Thanks for sending us bug reports and feature requests. We are currently working on all your suggestions so please expect another update soon with more improvements.

Another quick update which fixes the following bug

• After your mac wakes up from sleep/or a long pause, the timer sometimes becomes more than your focus time.

Thanks for being patient with us and sending us bug reports. We are extremely sorry for all the disruption this has caused. Do let us know if you face any other issues and we’ll fix them ASAP.

This is a critical update which fixes a couple of bugs that were present in the last release:

• Fixed: The break screen that comes after a meeting wouldn’t go away
• Fixed: The meeting notification didn’t respect the notification settings

Previous update (1.5.0):

• Added: A new menu bar option to pause the focus timer for x minutes, after which it automatically resumes.

• Added: New notification settings where you can change the positioning of the notifications.

• Added: A new option in Rest mode settings to completely hide the skip button.

• Added: The menu bar now shows the reason behind automatic pausing (whether you’re idle or in a meeting, etc.).

• Added: On exiting a meeting, the total meeting duration is now deducted from the focus time.

• Added: On entering a meeting, you’ll now see a notification with an option to ignore the meeting detection for the current cycle. This can be turned off.

• Added: You’ll now see if your upcoming break is a long break in the break reminder as well as in the menu bar.

• Fixed: A bug where, in some cases, the break window doesn’t appear on top of full-screen apps.

• Fixed: A bug where, when the Mac wakes from sleep, the break window doesn’t disappear even after the break is over.

There are a lot of other changes throughout the app to make it look and feel even better. If you notice any bugs, please reach out to [email protected].

As always, thank you for your bug reports and feature requests.

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• Added: A new menu bar option to pause the focus timer for x minutes, after which it automatically resumes.

• Added: New notification settings where you can change the positioning of the notifications.

• Added: A new option in Rest mode settings to completely hide the skip button.

• Added: The menu bar now shows the reason behind automatic pausing (whether you’re idle or in a meeting, etc.).

• Added: On exiting a meeting, the total meeting duration is now added to the focus time.

• Added: On entering a meeting, you’ll now see a notification with an option to ignore the meeting detection for the current cycle. This can be turned off.

• Added: You’ll now see if your upcoming break is a long break in the break reminder as well as in the menu bar.

• Fixed: A bug where, in some cases, the break window doesn’t appear on top of full-screen apps.

• Fixed: A bug where, when the Mac wakes from sleep, the break window doesn’t disappear even after the break is over.

There are a lot of other changes throughout the app to make it look and feel even better. If you notice any bugs, please reach out to [email protected].

As always, thank you for your bug reports and feature requests.

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• Added: a small warning is displayed when you skip a break after skipping multiple breaks in a row
• Added: tip on how to restore missing menu bar icon on macs with notch
• Fixed: misc small bugs

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• Fix empty menu bar status when you have “text only” style and the timer is stopped

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• Add an option to play a chime at the beginning of the break
• Add customization options for menu bar
• Long break cycle is now reset if you’re inactive for more than your focus time
• Fix an issue where, in some cases, the break screen goes behind full screen apps
• Minor bug fixes (animations, copy, etc.)

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• Remove extra space from the menu bar icon when live status is disabled
• Fix a variety of bugs in the license window

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• Fix a bug where changing the timers in onboarding doesn’t do anything

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• Virtual microphones are now ignored for meetings/calls detection
• Fixed a bug where unlocking the screen during a break would restart LookAway
• Fixed a bug where in some rare cases the break would never end
• Fixed some typos and other small bugs

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• Long breaks are here! By default, the long breaks are 3 minutes long and will activate after 3 short breaks. Head over to settings if you wish to customize it
• Settings has been revamped completely
• A new keyboard shortcut can now be assigned to restart LookAway quickly
• Misc bug fixes

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• Fixed a bug where the desktop sometimes bleeds in through the edges of the break screen
• The Skip Break button is now enabled after 5 seconds of starting the break (can be disabled from settings)

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• The “Skip Break” button during a break will now appear after a 5 second delay. You can disable this from the timers settings but it’s recommended to keep it on.
• We have a new website - https://lookaway.app!

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• Add custom focus and break time support in onboarding
• Fix settings window sometimes appearing empty and behind other windows
• Add a reset license button if you wish to activate it on other devices. You can also visit https://lookaway.app/reset-license to do the same

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• Fixed an issue where for some users, the app goes back in trial mode and the license stops working

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• Added an option to set custom time for both focus and break
• Fixed a bug where changing the focus time while LookAway is active would mess up the break time

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• Added a button on the break screen to instantly lock the screen
• Small visual updates

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• You can now assign keyboard shortcuts from settings to toggle pause/resume the focus timer, and start the break immediately
• Fixed a bug where after the reminder disappears, it would sometime restore focus to the wrong application

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• Added an option to start the break immediately in the menu bar app
• Fixed a bug where the reminder would not show again after delaying the break

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• You can now press “Esc” twice when the break is active to skip it
• Added an option to skip the break in the reminder
• Fixed a bug where settings window was sometimes empty

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• Add an option in the timer settings to change pause and reset threshold for idle time

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• Fixes the text color in menu bar not changing on light mode
• Fixes issues in break screen visibility on connecting/disconnecting external displays

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• Fixed a crash when a new camera was attached/removed while the app was running.

Here’s what’s new and improved in this update:

• Auto-pause during meetings or calls. You can manage this from the settings.
• New setting option: See detailed info like time till next break in the menu bar.
• Resolved an issue where some users saw a transparent break screen background.
• Want to share feedback? We’ve added a button in the about page for that.

• fixes transparency bug when reduced transparency is on in Accessibility settings
• updates trial remaining properly

• Fixes a bug in idle time settings