LookAway: Break Reminder
**The Mac app your body thanks you for.**
If you spend your day in front of a screen, your eyes, neck, and posture pay for it. LookAway gives you smart screen breaks, blink reminders, and posture nudges that quietly fit into your workday, so you can reduce eye strain and build healthier habits without fighting a timer.
The difference is timing. A break reminder is only useful if you actually keep it on, and most people turn timers off the moment they pop up during a meeting or deep work. LookAway is built around a simple idea: a break reminder should never become the interruption.
## Breaks that respect your flow
LookAway watches what you are doing and waits for the right moment. With Smart Pause, breaks automatically hold during:
- Meetings and calls
- Video playback
- Screen sharing and recording
- Fullscreen games
- Deep-focus apps you choose
It also understands idle time, so stepping away counts as a real break instead of triggering a pointless one.
## Plan the breaks that matter
New: Planned Breaks let you schedule breaks at a fixed time of day, like a lunch pause or an afternoon walk. Give each one a name, length, and the days it repeats. They still respect Smart Pause, so a planned break waits patiently if you are busy and starts the moment you are free.
## Made to fit your day
- Custom break intervals, durations, and long-break schedules
- A pre-break reminder and floating countdown so nothing catches you off guard
- Blink and posture reminders to fight dry eyes and tech neck
- Office Hours so reminders only show during your working day
- Skip and snooze controls, including snooze limits to keep one long stretch from drifting forever
## See your progress
- A Stats dashboard for screen time, breaks, and your longest and median sessions
- Screen Score, a single number that reflects how well you are taking care of your eyes
- A menu bar Quick Look panel with session controls at a glance
## Make it your own
- Custom break messages and animated break backgrounds
- Optional lock on break start to step away fully
- Automations with Apple Shortcuts, AppleScript, and custom scripts
- Focus Filters integration
- Sync breaks with your iPhone and iPad
## Native, private, and lightweight
LookAway is a native macOS app built for Apple silicon and Intel Macs. Activity detection happens on your device. It is designed to sit quietly in your menu bar and use almost no resources.
Take care of your eyes, your neck, and your focus. Download LookAway and give your body the breaks it deserves.
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Requires macOS 13 (Ventura) or later.
Questions or feedback? Reach us at hello@lookaway.app.
This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
It Stops Me, and My Eyes Thank Me
⁺
Best investment for my health this year. Yes, it interrupts my workflow, but that’s exactly the point. I have basically zero self-control when I’m in the zone, and gentle reminders are way too easy for me to ignore. LookAway is firm enough to actually make me step back, reset my eyes, and come back feeling better. After a few long workdays, I noticed less eye strain and fewer “why do my eyes hurt” moments. Setup is simple, it runs reliably, and the whole experience is clean and no-nonsense. If you stare at a s
Wow
zakah123
This application is amazing and has been so helpful. I have become a workaholic and love what I get to do on my computer. But I have been experiencing effects that aren’t fully caused by screentime, but have not helped. Vision and headaches in particular. It is so helpful to be reminded to take a Quick Look away from the screen. To blink or to take a significant pause. My therapist thanks you; as does my nervous system.
reduces stress rather than increasing it
Idiotropic
I have tried several apps of this sort and, unlike those, I like to use LookAway, versus regarding it as an unpleasant but needed chore. I look forward to those reminders to blink. I like that cute little pink thing! and I can customize the app.
Developer Response
Thank you! I spent a lot of time making LookAway feel friendly and non-intrusive and I am glad to hear it working for you :)
Well thought out
AMS123iPhone
Really well thought out for implementation and options. I use the posture feature and 5 min look away breaks to get up and move around.
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.
- 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!
Version 2.2.2
The developer, Mystical Bits, LLC, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
Identifiers
Usage Data
Diagnostics
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
The developer indicated that this app supports the following accessibility features. Learn More
