HazeOver — Distraction Dimmer™ for Mac

Turn distractions down and focus on your current task

Too many windows to manage? Large display? Or sometimes getting lost in multiple monitors? HazeOver is for you! This app automatically highlights the front window by fading out all the background windows.

Latest version requires macOS 10.15 Catalina or later. See other download options.

Watch demo video to see window fading animation in action

Watch demo video to see window fading animation in action HazeOver looks great with Dark mode for menu bar and Dock Change effect intensity by scrolling over menu bar icon General HazeOver settings: dimming intensity and automatic launch at login Advanced HazeOver settings: keyboard shortcut and animation duration

How to Increase Productivity on Mac with HazeOver?

  • Help yourself focus on one thing at a time. Automagically.
  • Easily see which window has keyboard focus.
    No more typing in a wrong window because the contrast is low.

  • Spend less time managing windows. The clutter will no longer bother you.
    No need to minimize, close or hide windows for your workspace to be neat.

  • Got a bigger display? Then going full screen is not an option for you.
    HazeOver prevents getting overwhelmed with too many windows.
  • Multiple monitors? This app will let you know which screen is focused or highlight a window on each monitor.

  • Power up macOS Dark Mode and reduce background glare.
  • Working at night? Reduce interface brightness without sacrificing legibility or color accuracy of the front window.

Heavy multi-tasking kills your concentration. All those tweets, emails, chat messages and lolcats 😼 staring back at you from the background. They strive for your attention. And you only have that much of it.

Don’t let yourself drown in scores of open windows. Hiding, switching, looking for the right one, more hiding, more switching. Calm down, breathe in, breathe out, launch HazeOver and finally concentrate on what you’ve been up to.

HazeOver automatically highlights an active window or app when you switch windows. The less important things gently fade away in the background, helping increase your productivity.

Set the hazing intensity and speed to your liking. Be it a soft dimming, an undemanding hint to focus on your workflow. Or a powerful dark background for outright dedication to your current task.

  • Desktop is automatically revealed when used.
  • Toggle the shade with a keyboard shortcut or adjust intensity with a gesture.
  • Keep separate dimming settings for Dark and Light mode.
  • Dragging stuff between apps? Tap “fn” key and HazeOver will gracefully fade out.
  • Control or schedule HazeOver settings with Shortcuts app, Focus Filters and AppleScript.

Ready to improve your workflow and eye comfort with HazeOver?

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macOS Sonoma

HazeOver 1.9.4 + macOS Sonoma

Customizable fading animation and minor bug fixes.

Mac App Store

HazeOver Mentioned by Apple in App Store Stories

“macOS Ventura is here, bringing fresh ways to boost your productivity and creativity. Check out a few of its coolest new features—along with apps and games to get the most out of them.”

“Whether you’re working, playing, or spending time with family, setting up a Focus is a great way to establish boundaries. With the new Focus filters in macOS Ventura, apps can customize what you see based on the Focus you’ve enabled.”

“By letting you automate frequent or cumbersome tasks, Shortcuts has become a productivity favorite on Mac. […] Check out these Mac favorites that work with Shortcuts”

macOS Ventura
HazeOver Focus Filter in macOS Ventura

Set up a Focus Filter to toggle HazeOver dimming or set its intensity and color automatically depending on which Focus mode you have activated. For example, you could have dimming turned on when switching to a Work focus or get it set to a particular color when studying.

Read the Automation Guide for details and inspiration.

Learn More
TouchSwitcher
TouchSwitcher in Touch Bar
  • Updated for macOS Big Sur with native support for Macs with new Apple Silicon M1 chips.
  • More options to override what Touch Bar shows for certain apps: Spaces and Quick Actions. In addition to Expanded Control Strip, “F1, F2, etc.” Keys, App Controls.
Learn More
macOS Big Sur

HazeOver 1.8.8 + Big Sur and Apple M1

HazeOver Menu in macOS Big Sur
  • New menu look to match the Control Center in macOS Big Sur.
  • Hide some HazeOver menu items for a cleaner look.
  • Native support for Macs with new Apple Silicon M1 chips.
Automatic Appearance

HazeOver 1.8.6 + Light/Dark Settings

Dark Mode settings

New: Dynamic settings for Light and Dark system appearance.

Dimming settings can be set to change automatically when using Auto Appearance on macOS Catalina (System Preferences > General). For example, enable dimming when turning on Dark mode. Or have different dimming intensity and color when in Light mode.

Such settings will be saved and applied independently for Dark and Light appearance. See HazeOver Preferences > Advanced > Dark Mode Settings.

Mac App Store

In this story Apple suggests HazeOver for “a professional look when making screen captures and recordings”.

Learn More
Action Shortcuts for Scripts

Run commands and scripts using keyboard shortcuts or from the menu bar. You could set up AppleScript or Automator actions to turn on Dark Mode, hide the Dock and the menu bar or control HazeOver.

Learn More
More News

Customer Reviews: Rated 4.9/5 Stars

Based on 2536 recent ratings and reviews from Mac App Store worldwide

A permanent addition to my desktop

This program has redefined what I view as “comfortable” on my desktop, and it has become a permanent resident on my status bar. I rarely disable it, but love the fact that I can quickly and easily do so using the taskbar icon. It does exactly what it says. Five stars.

Better is use than theory

You don’t know how nice this is until you use it. It really does make concentrating on the given window easier; and yes, you always know what window you’re on. Glad I got this, highly recommend it.

Brilliantly Simple

App that makes you go, “Where have you been all my Mac life?”

Worth the money, worth the time

This app has definitely helped with making my productive life easier. Let me tell you that it little popups are an annoyance to you, then this app will definitely help you concentrate on one thing at a time. It is now in my must-have list and should be in yours too!
More Reviews

HazeOver Help — Tips & Tricks