Eye breaks with a cat who does them with you.
Every 20 minutes of screen time, Blink Blink asks you to look far away and do a few full blinks. The cat looks where you should look and blinks when you should blink, so you just follow along.
Installer, version 0.1.0, 21.4 MB. Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. Other platforms
- Windows now, phones later
- No accounts, no tracking
- Waits out calls and fullscreen
Demo
See a whole day of breaks in 90 seconds
An eye break from the heads-up to "Nice. Back to it.", then a rest break on Windows and on a phone. Captions are on the video.
The problem
Long screen days are hard on your eyes
- On screens we blink less often, and the blinks we do are less complete.
- Your focus stays locked at arm's length for hours. It only relaxes when you look at something 6 m or more away.
- The 20-20-20 habit is easy to forget, and a reminder that pops up in the middle of a call is worse than none.
What Blink Blink does about it
It counts your screen time, not the clock. When a break is due, it tells you 10 seconds ahead, then gives you one calm full-screen break: one instruction at a time, one animation, one clear way out.
The intervals come from the research notes behind the app. Why these timings
Eye breaks · every 20 minutes
A 40-second break the cat does with you
40 seconds on a computer, 20 on a phone. Each break is one short routine, and the cat acts out every step.
A heads-up first
A small pill says "Eye break in 10 s". Busy? Postpone it 5 minutes. On phones the break comes straight in.
Look far away
Find something 6 m or more away and let it sharpen. The cat gazes at a far tree with you.
Full blinks
Two full blinks. Close, a gentle squeeze, open. Or follow the dot left, right, up and down.
Follow by sound
Soft tones tell you when to close, open, look left or look far, so you can keep your eyes closed.
Three times a day there's also a 90-second full blink set. Turn off the squeeze step if you've had recent eye surgery or have glaucoma.
Rest breaks · every hour
Every hour, 5 minutes away from the screen
A painted scene with soft nature sound fills the screen for about 20 seconds. Then it dims to about 18 % so your eyes rest too. In the last 15 seconds it comes back up with a chime and "Nice. Back to it."
- Hourly rest: every 30 to 120 minutes, 3 to 10 minutes long. Default: every hour, 5 minutes.
- Longer rest on computers: every 90 to 240 minutes, 10 to 15 minutes long. Default: every 2 hours, 10 minutes.
- On phones: the scene plays for 20 seconds, then a dark screen says "Phone down. Close your eyes." with the sound. Or pick "Sound only" for the dark screen alone.
Prefer the eye routine or a plain timer? Each rest break can use one instead of the scene.
You decide
Choose how firm breaks are
Some people want a nudge. Some want a break they can't wriggle out of. Pick one in Settings and change it any time.
Balanced is the default on Windows, Gentle on phones. iOS uses Gentle for now.
Honest stats
See the breaks you took. No streaks, no scores.
Stats shows what happened, and nothing to live up to.
| Today | Eye, hourly and longer breaks: offered, taken, snoozed, skipped |
|---|---|
| Full blink sets | How many of the 3 you did today |
| Time | Longest unbroken stretch, far-look time |
| Last 7 days | Breaks offered and taken, per day |
No blink counts either: the app doesn't use your camera.
Privacy
Everything stays on your device
No account
Nothing to sign up for. Install it and it starts counting.
No tracking
No analytics and no ads. Blink Blink has nothing to report to anyone.
Your history, your files
Settings and break history are small files on your device. One history file per month, the last 13 months kept.
Platforms
Windows now. Android and iPhone later.
Windows Available now
Lives in the tray. Full-screen breaks, dimmed extra monitors, and it holds breaks during fullscreen apps, presentations and calls. Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit.
Download for WindowsAndroid Coming later
Android downloads aren't available yet. It will count screen-on time, or only the apps you pick, and open breaks over other apps. Android 8 or later.
What it will ask foriPhone and iPad Coming later
iPhone downloads aren't available yet. It will count time in the apps you choose, using two Shortcuts automations per app. iOS 17 or later.
How it will workDownload
Get Blink Blink for Windows
Pick the installer unless you'd rather keep the app in a folder of your own. Both are the same app.
Installer Recommended
Installs just for you, with no admin password. Adds a Start menu shortcut and an uninstaller.
21.4 MB · BlinkBlink-0.1.0-windows-x64-setup.exe
SHA-256: 5c460f9b864bf52f53ebd3c585cb694e73f42379c932926274ca27c77411a0f7
Zip
No installer. Extract the folder anywhere and open blink_blink.exe.
23.3 MB · BlinkBlink-0.1.0-windows-x64.zip
SHA-256: 1aa66690e0d0bb7f73d3f9b17fa26f838ddf37e11e5d54e3a24d5650abd91720
Version 0.1.0. Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. The app isn't code-signed yet, so Windows may show a warning the first time: what to do. All hashes: SHA256SUMS.txt.
Questions
Before you install
Will it interrupt my calls, games or presentations?
No. On Windows it holds a due break while a fullscreen app, a fullscreen game or video, presentation mode, or another app using your microphone or camera is active. The break comes 2 minutes after that ends.
The Android version, when it's out, waits during calls, in landscape, and in apps you choose. iPhones can't detect any of these, so there it will only count time in the apps you set up.
What if I'm in the middle of typing?
On Windows the heads-up pill waits while you type, by up to a minute, and Postpone gives you 5 more minutes. You can also pause for 30 minutes, an hour, or until tomorrow from the tray.
Is it free?
Yes. Downloading and using Blink Blink costs nothing. There's no account, no ads and no subscription.
Windows says "Windows protected your PC". Is that safe?
Blink Blink isn't code-signed yet, so Windows doesn't recognise it and shows this warning. Choose More info, then Run anyway. You can check your download matches ours with the SHA-256 hash in the download section. More about the warning.
When are Android and iPhone coming?
Both are written but haven't been tested on real phones yet, so there's no download for them. Windows is available now. Where each platform stands.
Does it track me?
No. There are no accounts, no analytics and no ads. Your settings and break history stay on your device. See exactly what's stored and where.
Is it a medical device? Will it fix my eyesight?
No. Blink Blink is a comfort tool, not a medical device. It doesn't diagnose or treat any condition, and it won't prevent or reverse short-sightedness or the need for glasses. The 20-20-20 rhythm is a habit cue, not a cure.
If you have eye pain, redness, sudden or ongoing blurry vision, flashes, or symptoms that don't improve, see an optometrist or ophthalmologist.
Can I do the breaks with my eyes closed?
Yes, on Windows. Each step has its own soft sound, so you know when to close, open, look left or right, look far and come back. "Hear the sounds" in Settings plays each one. On phones a soft buzz marks the end of a step.
Give your eyes a break every 20 minutes
Download it for Windows and follow the short setup. The cat will take it from there.
Installer, version 0.1.0, 21.4 MB. Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. Other platforms