A posture app for developers, for long hours at the screen

What is a posture app for developers?

A posture app for developers checks how you sit while you work at your computer, and tells you when a habit sets in. The useful ones stay quiet while you sit well, so they don't break your focus. On a Mac, the camera above the screen can do the checking, so there's nothing to wear.

Why does your posture slip when you code?

Most of it happens while you think.

You lean in to read. Small text pulls you toward the screen. In a 2012 study of 26 computer users, when people moved closer to the screen, 78% of the move came from bending the upper body forward and only 3% from the head. CCOHS says a bigger font is better than sitting closer. Press ⌘ + to make the text bigger.^1,2

You look down. A laptop screen sits low, so your head comes down to it. OSHA suggests a screen straight in front of you, with its top line at or below eye level.³

Your hand finds your chin. Stuck on a problem, you prop your head on your hand and stare at the code. It feels like thinking, so you don't notice how long you've been there.

Poxture App checks for a hand resting at your chin or jaw. When it stays there for about 20 seconds, by default, it nudges you.

You don't get up. A good session can hold you in one position for hours. OSHA notes that holding one posture, like looking at the monitor, for a long time without a break can tire the muscles of your neck and shoulders. CCOHS advises not sitting for more than 50 minutes at a time.^4,5

Too close to the screen › · Looking down › · Hand on face › · Sitting still too long ›

What should a developer look for in a posture app?

1. It checks before it nudges. A timer that pings mid-thought soon gets dismissed.
2. It names the habit and shows the fix. "Too close to the screen" with a picture of the fix tells you more than "sit up".
3. It works with your setup: a laptop, an external monitor, or both.
4. It keeps camera pictures on your Mac. Apple's Vision framework runs on the device, so reading your posture doesn't need to send a picture anywhere.⁶
5. It stays light on your Mac, and you can pause it for a demo or a call.

Using a timer now? Why timer reminders get ignored ›

Comparing webcam, AirPods, wearable and timer apps? How the four kinds of posture app for Mac compare ›

Your head keeps dropping to the laptop? A tech neck app that tells you when your head drops ›

What happens to the camera pictures?

Poxture App reads each frame in memory and drops it. It keeps numbers, not video, like how far you lean. No camera image or video is ever sent anywhere. No pictures, ever.

Your posture is checked offline, on your Mac, so Poxture App keeps working without internet.

Poxture App sends usage counts with a random install number and, once a day, rounded posture scores with no install number, and supporters can turn both off in Settings. The full list is on the privacy page.

You can check this yourself. The green light next to your camera comes on for a moment at each check. How to check the camera light ›

Will a posture app get in the way of my work?

Built to stay light while you work. On a full workday on my MacBook Pro, Poxture App used about 3 % of the CPU in the background.

It glows quietly at the top of your screen and chimes once if the nudge is still showing after 30 seconds. You can turn off the chime, switch to Calm for fewer nudges, snooze one habit from its card, or pause it.

By default, nudges show when you share your screen, so people on a call see them too. You can turn this off in Settings, under Advanced. The camera can also stay off during calls if you choose.