A macOS app that blurs your screen when you slouch

github.com

525 points by dnw 14 hours ago


avalys - 12 hours ago

You can measure my productivity by how slouched I am.

Sitting up straight at my desk, chair locked, perfect posture? I’m doing nothing, maybe looking through System Preferences to change the system highlight color.

Sliding down in my chair like jelly, with my shoulders where my butt should be and my head resting on the lumbar support? I’m building the next iPhone and it’ll be done by 2 AM.

rdslw - 12 hours ago

Congrats on the app.

I'm seeing that "great-ai-unlock" is happening. I see in last month a lot of new software being codeveloped with claude/codex/gemini/you-name it.

Before, it was too costly to do sth like the Posture app: here, you would have to know Swift and apple apis to write such tool. Would you be C# (very good) programmer with free weekend, and an idea: no cookie for ya.

These days, due to "great-ai-unlock" your skills can be easily transferred and used to cross platforms boundary and code such useful app in a weekend or so.

Jevons paradox is indeed working (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox).

jasonjmcghee - 13 hours ago

I'm not sure how you can use a laptop with good posture. An external monitor at the right height seems like a necessity.

I'm also optimistic about monitors in the form of glasses- even less effort needed to set yourself up for perfect posture. But the sweet spot problem is still very much a thing from what I've seen- can't wait until it's normal for them to have eye tracking, foveated rendering and streaming, and be wireless.

oarfish - 9 hours ago

I guess it's technically cool, but one should be aware that there is no such thing as "good posture" or no accepted definition that lends itself to good science. slouching isnt bad, remaining in the same posture for a long time is, or at least it can lead to discomfort. people that sit up straight all the time still get back pain. i slouch all the time and i don't. The popular attachment to specific configurationa of your joints that look aeathetically acceptable os orthorexia, not science.

einsteinx2 - 10 hours ago

I’ve had chronic back problems due to computer use and back posture for 20+ years. This past year I bought an adjustable height desk and an Aeron chair to try and help, but I still slouch constantly without realizing it.

I cloned this a few hours ago and started using it and it’s amazing how effective the blur is! And it’s frustrating to learn how quickly I start slouching the second I’m not paying attention.

I’ll echo what I’ve seen others saying about how cool it is to see something come about due to LLM coding that likely wouldn’t have otherwise. Glad to see you actively working on it, and I’ll be using it every day!

P.S. I’ve been an iOS and Mac dev writing Obj-C and then Swift for 16 years now, so if you run into any issues that Claude isn’t sorting out feel free to reach out to me, you can find my contact via my GitHub which is in my profile (same username as hear). Also as I’ll be using this regularly, if I come up with any improvements I’ll be sure to open a PR!

kgarten - 2 hours ago

Quite a while back, a former student of mine built Nekoze :D

https://nekoze.app Nekoze warns you when you are hunched over.

Years back, we did a couple of whimsical prototypes along those lines (using J!NS MEME, smart glasses): https://youtu.be/LXIY2g-twOA

coolandsmartrr - an hour ago

I think this is an interesting application of computer vision for healthcare purposes.

I've noticed that the app tends to use 15% of my CPU constantly. I wonder if there is room to improve efficiency so that the app does not hog resources.

incanus77 - 12 hours ago

Anyone else with progressive lenses just think "I already have this"?

jama211 - 12 hours ago

Sounds like a good idea but “good posture” meaning being upright is just such an outdated and incorrect thing. Be comfortable, relax in your chairs, it’s fine.

blauditore - 13 hours ago

Does anyone ever reach a high level of productivity with correct posture? I can't.

xfactorial - 13 hours ago

I think the idea is wonderful, but a not-audited application that uses things like the camera is a “no go” for me.

Get it notorized and ask for some money! I will gladly pay it (and I hope others will do it as well).

Awesome concept: ergonomics and/or posture monitoring is a market opportunity for heavy users.

rendaw - 2 hours ago

Slouching is caused by the design of chairs and soreness in a single sitting position. I have a love-hate relationship with my Salli chair, but angle your legs down and slouching is no longer an issue, to the point where you don't even need a back on your chair.

tanelpoder - 13 hours ago

Once launched, Posturr runs in the background and displays a brief "Claude Mode Active" notification.

I haven’t checked the code yet, but what does the “Claude Mode” mean? Is it a poor naming choice? It implies that the local app is somehow connected to Claude (?)

hk1337 - 10 hours ago

This is a really cool idea. I’m a little put off with the idea that my camera is always watching me but the thought behind it is really cool.

amelius - 13 hours ago

Why use a proprietary stack for building this when there is a far more capable open ecosystem available at your fingertips?

https://huggingface.co/models?other=human-pose-estimation

https://huggingface.co/models?other=3d-human-mesh-recovery

nsm - 4 hours ago

Highly recommend the LookAway app if you are on macOS and looking for something encouraging you to take breaks and maintain good posture.

lcnmrn - 12 hours ago

Install a pull up bar in your room. It will fix your back better than anything else.

iandanforth - 12 hours ago

While this seems to detect posture fairly well, the screen blurring doesn't work for me despite allowing what appear to be the relevant permissions. (macOS 15.1)

oug-t - 2 hours ago

I code on my bed, guess no slouching at all

minton - 7 hours ago

Lots of things people might want to monitor for such as nail biting.

sahiljagtapyc - 11 hours ago

I wonder if this is less about “bad posture” and more about how people unconsciously optimize for stability when thinking deeply. When I’m reasoning through something hard, I tend to lock into whatever position minimizes micro-adjustments - even if it looks terrible ergonomically.

kneel - 12 hours ago

This is cool, I built something similar a while back. I originally wanted the screen to dim when I slouched but I couldn't get access to dimming on OSX. I ended up just playing a noise when I slouched. It became so distracting I stopped using it.

The blurring of the screen is a much better idea.

altern8 - 11 hours ago

I can't seem to open it. It keeps saying "Apple could not verify “Posturr.app” is free of malware that may harm your Mac or compromise your privacy.".

I tried opening by right-cliking on the app file, holding option, etc.

I'm on Sequoia 15.7.3 (24G419)

taf2 - 12 hours ago

Love it - I did something like this for when codex is done - a script runs to detect if I’m at my computer or not and then notify my phone if I walked away that it’s done - mostly so I can get back to slouching ;)

RyanShook - 10 hours ago

Works pretty well, probably too resource heavy to just always keep on. Suggestion: give the user a shortcut key to close the app in case the blur goes haywire on them.

cacoos - 6 hours ago

this is great! I made one for nail-biters: https://github.com/cacoos/trackhands

byteflip - 12 hours ago

Would be cool to see integration with something like Upright Go or other sensors you place on your back that detect tilt etc.

dottjt - 9 hours ago

It would be great if there was something like this, but for not wearing reading glasses.

acedTrex - an hour ago

You can tell its slop cuz its 1k lines in a single main.swift file lol

fatliverfreddy - 11 hours ago

Guzzles my CPU, cool though! Would use if it didn't eat up half a core to boot.

lasgawe - 11 hours ago

Is there anyone out there who’s productive and sitting upright? Asking for me..

hackernj - 11 hours ago

Black Mirror is nearly here.

Raed667 - 13 hours ago

I would love this but for detecting when I'm not wearing my glasses!

rekabis - 6 hours ago

Not that I have particularly bad posture, but…

> Posturr uses your Mac's camera

Not all of us have web cams, or are willing to tolerate them from a security perspective. [apologetic grin]

iammrpayments - 13 hours ago

Staying in upright posture for too long is also not good for you.

publicdebates - 13 hours ago

I would pay $10 for this.

didip - 11 hours ago

lol, whenever I am hacking intensely, I am lying down on my bed with laptop tilted with the perfect angle.

I guess this app won’t catch me slouching then.

yieldcrv - 9 hours ago

.gitignore > # Claude Code > .claude/

Congratulations! I love seeing people express themselves to release things that were previously not economically viable to prioritize

Forget worrying about a 10x dev, Claude Code with the Opus 4.5 model has turned me into a 100x developer even in software stacks I'm not even familiar with. And with playwright-mcp its completely absolved the need for UX designers in my workflow because I just point playwright-mcp at an already established and A/B tested website for its UX principles. This gives me results far beyond what v0, lovable or Claude Code would come up with on its own.

russellbeattie - 10 hours ago

That whole "good posture" thing is future physical problems waiting to happen. For 25 years, I've always put my feet up on the corner of my desk (to the left), set the seat as high as possible (or adjust the desk lower) and lean back, arms extended. Basically, I'm positioned like an F1 driver in a cockpit.

No back problems as there's no weight on my spine. No carpal tunnel issues, as my wrists are always flat. No fatigue from holding my body at right angles for hours at a time.

The downside is I look like a total slacker in the office, especially to narrow minded image conscious managers who expect me "to act professionally."

eeixlk - 13 hours ago

Satire i hope

netik - 7 hours ago

Great, so now my eyes and back are going to be f'd. Just step away from the screen and take regular breaks.

VadimPR - 13 hours ago

How can you tell if a short person is slouching? Or a tall person?

nailer - 10 hours ago

About 20 years ago they was an early XDG /Compiz plugin called ‘literal focus’ - as a joke, it only focused the focused window. It’s amusing to see this technique being used more practically.

zsoltkacsandi - 11 hours ago

One thing I learned from my physio: in your spine, everything is connected.

For example, even if you sit perfectly upright, if you have anterior pelvic tilt, it can change the whole dynamics of your spine, that the cervical segment takes a lot of load that it isn't supposed to do.

Or with bad habits you can reprogram your neuromuscular system that it uses the wrong muscles to maintain posture, that can lead a series of problems long term.

If you have back/neck pain or tension that does not resolve in 1-2 weeks, go to a physio.

aa_is_op - 12 hours ago

Plz make a Windows version :)))

PlatoIsADisease - 13 hours ago

Anyone want to vibe code this to work on linux or M$

avhception - 11 hours ago

So now I gotta squint while I slouch!

p0w3n3d - 13 hours ago

Great, now I'll get sick eyes too

* laughs histerically