A quiet desktop app that watches the clock so your eyes don't have to. Every 20 minutes — or whenever you've set it — it asks you to look away. That's it. That's the whole product.
"Computer Vision Syndrome affects an estimated 65% of adults who use screens for more than two hours a day. The most reliable intervention isn't medication or special glasses — it's looking away."American Optometric Association · 2024 Position Paper
The clinical standard is simple. Every 20 minutes of screen time, look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. Better Breaks keeps the count for you — so the rule becomes a rhythm instead of a thing you forget.
Better Breaks doesn't need an account, a server, or a recurring decision from you. Install it, pick a rhythm, leave it running. The first reminder arrives in twenty minutes.
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There isn't one correct interval. A long-form writer needs a different cadence than a developer. We ship five tested rhythms and a custom builder. Pick one, switch any time, or design your own.
A break isn't lost productivity. It's the thing that makes the next hour worth doing. Better Breaks won't try to convince you of this — but the research has, for decades.
The app is the same in every theme — same modes, same features, same restraint. Only the surface changes. Switch in one click. Each theme is built from twelve design tokens and tested across all five modes.
[theme-midnight][theme-daylight][theme-moss][theme-bloom]A break timer is supposed to make your day quieter, not noisier. Every feature below was deliberately left out.
A single license. A single install. A quieter day. Most people are paid up at the free tier — Pro is for the long-form workers who want history and custom rhythms.
See personal plans Free forever, or $5/month for Pro.
Bulk seat licensing, signed installers ready for MDM deployment, central admin defaults, and a single invoice. Built to roll out across a company without asking your IT team for favors.
Talk to us about deployment Volume pricing from $4/seat/month.
The full break timer. For most people, this is the whole product.
For long-form workers who want history, custom rhythms, and Pro insights.
For companies deploying across a workforce. Bulk seats, central admin, MDM-ready.
Annual billing saves 20%. No trial required — the free tier is the trial. Volume pricing kicks in at 50 seats.
If your question isn't here, the privacy and security pages have most of the technical detail. Or write to hello@betterbreaks.app and a human will reply.
Yes. Better Breaks is a native desktop app that runs entirely on your machine. It doesn't need an internet connection to count time or show break reminders. The only network use is the occasional update check, which you can disable.
No. The app detects active calls in Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex, and silently skips reminders until the meeting ends. You can also enable Do Not Disturb manually with one click. Skipped reminders aren't penalized; the rhythm picks back up when you do.
The Team tier includes signed MSI installers for Windows and PKG installers for macOS, both ready for Intune, Jamf, Kandji, or any standard MDM. You get a single license key, central admin defaults you can lock, and one invoice. Talk to us and we'll send the deployment guide.
None. The app stores your settings and break history locally. No analytics SDKs, no telemetry beacons, no account, no email required. If you want to back up your settings, you do that yourself.
Yes. Fullscreen break overlays appear on the display you're actively using. Notification-style reminders follow your system's notification preferences. You can also pin the timer window to a specific display if you prefer.
Yes. Personal subscriptions are refundable within 30 days, no questions. Team contracts are pro-rated and refundable within 60 days. We don't lock you in — the free tier is the real trial.