ColorPauseColorPause for Mac · Bring back your focus
Break the scroll habit.
Short videos, feeds, and games are built to keep you going. ColorPause turns them black and white the moment you reach the limit you set, so the pull fades right when you meant to stop.
Works in Chrome and Safari, and with Mac apps. No browser extension needed.
See it in 20 seconds
Only the window showing a site on your list turns gray. Everything else stays in color.
A colorful feed turns gray at its limit, a work document in another tab stays in color, and the feed is gray again on the way back. Demo with a made-up feed.
Made for the habits that eat your day
Pick what pulls you in, set a limit, and let the color go when time is up. Nothing is blocked, so there’s nothing to fight.
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“Just one more video”
YouTube, TikTok, and Reels in your browser: when your 20 minutes are up, the next video plays in gray, and the pull fades.
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Endless feeds
Instagram, X, Reddit, or the news: allow a few opens or minutes a day. After that, the scroll is black and white.
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Games that run late
Give your games an hour in the evening. When it’s used up, the game turns gray, not your whole Mac.
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Work hours
Keep feeds and videos gray from 9 to 5, and in color in the evening and on weekends.
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Chat that never stops
Slack, Discord, or WhatsApp: limit how often you open them, so checking in doesn’t take over the day.
How it works
It’s a nudge, not a lock: everything still works, it just gets less tempting.
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List what pulls you in
Add the websites and Mac apps that pull you in. Open a site or switch to an app, then add it from the ColorPause menu.
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Set your limits
Minutes or opens per hour or per day, active hours, the days it applies, and days off.
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Use your Mac as usual
When you reach a limit, that site or app turns black and white. The Last 7 days page shows how it’s going.
What changes for you
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You decide ahead of time
Set your limits when you’re clear-headed, and ColorPause keeps them for you in the moment.
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A nudge, not a fight
Nothing is blocked or locked. The color just goes, so you can finish what you’re doing and step away.
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The rest of your Mac stays yours
Only the window that’s over its limit turns gray. Your work, your calls, and everything else stay in full color.
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See how it’s going
The Last 7 days page shows your time and visits on each site and app, compared with the week before.
What’s different
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No browser extension needed
Nothing to install in Chrome or Safari. ColorPause asks the browser which site each window shows.
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Only the window that matters
Only the window showing a listed site or app goes gray. The rest of your screen stays in color.
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Any display arrangement
Works on any number of displays, in any arrangement, wherever your windows are.
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Private
What you browse and use never leaves your Mac. No account, no analytics.
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Apps too
Mac apps such as Slack, Discord, WhatsApp, and games can turn gray too, and sites you’ve installed as web apps from Safari or Chrome follow the site’s rule.
Why color?
Color pulls your attention. Take it away, and the pull fades.
In published studies, people who turned their phones gray used them 20 to 50 minutes less a day. ColorPause brings that idea to your Mac.
Features
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Minutes or opens
Turn gray after a number of minutes or opens, per hour or per day, or as soon as you open it.
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Active hours
Apply a rule only between certain hours, like your working day.
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Chosen days
Every day, weekdays, weekends, or the days you pick.
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Days off
Add holidays and days off, once or every year. On a day off, limits don’t apply, so sites and apps stay in color unless you’ve chosen Keep gray.
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Keep gray
Keep a site or app gray whatever its limits say, or gray the front window, all tabs, from the menu bar.
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Show in color
Need the color back? Show everything in color for a few minutes, then graying picks up again.
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How long it stays gray
Until you leave, for a set number of minutes, or until you quit your browsers.
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Last 7 days
A simple page with the time and visits for each site and app on your list, compared with the 7 days before.
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Lives in the menu bar
See a site’s or app’s status at a glance, and have ColorPause open at login if you like.
System requirements
- macOS
- macOS 14 Sonoma or later
- Mac
- Apple silicon or Intel
- Browsers
- Google Chrome and SafariExperimental: Microsoft Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, Chromium, Chrome Beta, Dev, and Canary, and Safari Technology Preview
- Apps
- Mac apps, and sites installed as web apps from Safari or Chrome
- Displays
- Any number, in any arrangement
- Permissions
- Automation for each browserAccessibility is recommended, so changes show right away. Apps need no permission.
- Internet
- Only to check for updates and to activate your license
Pricing
Pay once. Not a subscription.
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1 Mac
$39 one time
$29 until November 10
- For one Mac
- 12 months of updates included
- Keeps working after that; renew updates if you want them
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3 Macs
$59 one time
$49 until November 10
- For up to 3 of your Macs
- 12 months of updates included
- Keeps working after that; renew updates if you want them
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5 Macs
$69 one time
$59 until November 10
- For up to 5 Macs, such as a family’s
- 12 months of updates included
- Keeps working after that; renew updates if you want them
- Free 14-day trial with every feature: no card, no account. If it ends before you buy, ColorPause pauses (nothing turns gray) until you do; your rules, settings, and stats are kept.
- Launch price, until November 10: $10 off every license, taken off automatically at checkout.
- Have a code? Redeem it here.
- Students and teachers: 50% off on request. Ask for the discount
- Refunds: a full refund within 30 days, no questions asked. License terms
Questions
Is ColorPause for screen addiction?
ColorPause is for everyday screen habits: mindless scrolling, autoplay videos, and games that run longer than you meant. It makes them less tempting once you reach the limits you set. It isn’t a medical treatment. If screen use is seriously affecting your life, a doctor or counselor can help.
What permissions does ColorPause ask for, and why?
Two, and macOS asks you about each one:
- Automation (required), once for each browser. It lets ColorPause ask the browser for the address of the visible tab in each window, and where that window is, so it can match the address against your list and gray the right window.
- Accessibility (recommended). ColorPause uses it only to notice right away when you switch tabs or windows. Without it, changes show within 5 seconds.
Apps on your list need no permission: macOS’s list of windows already says which app owns each one. You can turn either permission off at any time in System Settings › Privacy & Security. How to allow them
Why isn’t ColorPause in the Mac App Store?
Apps in the Mac App Store must run in a sandbox that doesn’t allow what ColorPause needs to do: ask your browsers which address each window shows, and gray another app’s window. So ColorPause is sold directly, from this site.
Does ColorPause read the pages I visit?
No. It reads only the address of the visible tab, on your Mac, to match it against your list. It never reads what’s on the page or inside your apps, and it counts time and visits only for what’s on your list. Privacy policy
Is ColorPause a subscription?
No. You pay once. Your license includes 12 months of updates; after that, ColorPause keeps working, and you can renew updates if you want newer versions.
What happens after the trial?
If the 14-day trial ends before you buy, ColorPause pauses: nothing turns gray until you buy a license. Your rules, settings, and stats are kept, so buying picks up where you left off.
Can I get a refund?
Yes: a full refund within 30 days of buying, no questions asked. Email [email protected].
Which browsers and apps does it work with?
Google Chrome and Safari. Microsoft Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, Chromium, and Chrome Beta, Dev, and Canary are experimental, as is Safari Technology Preview: ColorPause reads them the same way as Chrome or Safari, but they’ve had less testing. Other browsers, such as Firefox, aren’t supported. You don’t need to install a browser extension.
It also works with Mac apps, such as Slack, Discord, WhatsApp, and games. A site you’ve installed as a web app from Safari or Chrome follows that site’s rule.
Does it work with more than one display?
Yes. ColorPause works on any number of displays, in any arrangement. Only the window showing a listed site or app goes gray, wherever it is.
Is there a version for iPhone or iPad?
Not yet. We may make a Safari extension for iPhone and iPad later, but we haven’t set a date.