A companion that actually watches your screen — not a blocker you'll just turn off.
Focus Buddy nudges you against your own stated goal for the session, not a universal app blocklist. Drift, and it steps in with one honest, screen-darkening intervention — never a trap, always an easy way back.
Three steps. No setup, no app-by-app rules to maintain.
Tell it your goal
One field: "what are you working on?" Everything is judged against that — your words, not a fixed list somebody else wrote.
It watches, quietly
The character sits small in the corner. Simple rules judge most windows instantly; for the unclear ones, an AI checks the page against your goal.
One honest intervention
Stay drifted for 10 seconds and the screen darkens, video pauses, sound mutes, and a card names the exact thing pulling you away. Two honest ways out.
This is the actual intervention — sped up so you can see the whole thing right now.
For real, you get 10 seconds of drifting before this happens. Here it's cut to a few seconds so you don't have to wait.
Why are you staying?
Type a goal (or leave the default) and click "Start focus session" to begin.
Blockers are a wall. This is a person who talks back.
Blockers remove the choice — which is exactly why they don't last. Your motivated self installs one; your distracted self turns it off five minutes later.
A blocker
- A fixed list of "bad" apps someone else wrote
- Silent until you fight past it, or just disable it
- No idea what you're actually trying to do today
- Feels like a wall — so you find the door
Focus Buddy
- Judged against the goal you stated for THIS session
- Stays quiet while you're on track, and steps in only when you stay drifted
- Names the exact thing pulling you away, out loud
- Always an honest way out: get back to work, or type why you're staying
Built to be honest about what it's doing, and gentle about how it does it.
Judged against your goal
Not a universal app list — your own stated intent for this session.
Staying takes a reason
"Yeah, I need this" asks you to type why. A moment to decide, not a reflex click.
One honest escalation
No ladder of nagging notifications — a soft edge-warning, then one clear intervention.
Pauses video, mutes sound
The distraction actually stops — not just gets covered up by a dark screen.
Never a trap
Your keyboard is never blocked. Every intervention has an immediate, honest way out.
Privacy by design
Window titles and URLs are never saved. For unclear windows, the AI sees only your goal, the app, the window title and the site name. Never the full URL, and nothing is logged.
Back to the exact tab
"Back to work" returns you to the app and the browser tab you were on, in Chrome, Safari and Edge.
See your week
A local dashboard shows each day and hour split into productive, neutral and distracted time.
Mac and Windows
Voice, video pause, muting and tab switching all work natively on both.
Needs Screen Recording permission (Mac)
That's the macOS permission that lets it read window titles — it never captures, saves, or uploads your screen.
Download the Focus Buddy beta.
Free while it's in beta. No account, no signup. Tell us what breaks and we'll fix it.
System requirements & first launch
Mac
- macOS 13 Ventura or later
- To install, open the .dmg and drag Focus Buddy to Applications
- Apple Silicon (M1 or newer)
- Screen Recording and Accessibility permission, asked on first launch
- Beta builds aren't signed yet: if macOS blocks it, open System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway
Windows
- Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit
- No extra permissions needed
- Beta builds aren't signed yet: if SmartScreen warns you, click More info → Run anyway
Both: an internet connection for AI judgment of unclear windows. Without one, it falls back to its built-in rules.