Support

Getting started

Always On lives in the menu bar — a sun icon when active, a moon when idle. There is no Dock icon and no window. Click the icon to open the panel, then choose how long to stay awake:

• Duration presets — 30m, 1h, 2h, 3h, 4h or 8h
• Custom — set any length up to 12 hours, right in the menu
• Until Off — stay awake indefinitely until you stop it
• Profiles — Cooking, Presentation, Reading, Development, or your own
• Keep awake while… — a video call, presenting, recording, or an external display is connected; the session ends by itself when the activity does
• Keep awake until… — a specific clock time
• Keep awake while an app runs — ends when that app quits

Common questions

Does Always On override system sleep?

No. The app uses the standard macOS display sleep assertion. It does not override lid-close sleep, forced sleep, scheduled energy settings, or shutdown. Closing your laptop lid will still put your Mac to sleep.

Why haven't I seen the "still with us?" reminder?

Reminders only apply to open-ended sessions — Until Off, profiles, app-triggered and activity-based sessions. Timed sessions (30m, 1h, and so on) end by themselves, so they never need one.

Two other things affect the timing:

• The reminder interval is a few hours by default, and it is reset whenever you open the menu — Always On treats that as "you're clearly still here". If you check the menu regularly, the reminder may never be due.
• Reminders arrive sooner when running on battery, if battery-aware intervals are enabled.

You can change the interval, or switch reminders off entirely, in Settings → General.

My Mac turned itself off from Always On without warning

After a reminder goes unanswered, Always On ends the session automatically. As of version 1.2.0 you get a second notification about five minutes before that happens, telling you exactly when it will turn off — clicking Keep Active on either notification keeps the session running.

If you never see these, check System Settings → Notifications → Always On. Choosing the Alerts style instead of Banners keeps them on screen until you respond, which suits this app well. You can also disable auto-off completely in Settings → General.

Automatic activation isn't triggering

Each trigger has to be switched on individually in Settings → Context Detection. A few notes:

• Video calls, recording, presenting — detected by the app being open (Zoom, Teams, FaceTime, WebEx; OBS, QuickTime, ScreenFlow, Loom, Camtasia; Keynote, PowerPoint).
• External display — includes clamshell mode, where the external screen is the only display.
• Calendar — only timed events count; all-day events such as birthdays and holidays are ignored.
• If you turn a session off by hand, Always On won't immediately switch it back on. That trigger is paused until the situation ends and occurs again.

Calendar activation stopped working after a macOS upgrade

macOS 14 changed how calendar permission is granted. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Calendars and make sure Always On is enabled. Calendar access is always optional — everything else works without it.

Why does it need calendar access at all?

Only to see whether an event is starting, so it can keep your Mac awake for a meeting. It is optional, read-only, and no calendar data ever leaves your Mac.

Does it collect any data?

No. Always On has no network access whatsoever — no analytics, no accounts, no cloud sync. See the privacy policy.

What is the health score?

An optional wellness feature. Long unbroken sessions gradually lower the score, and taking breaks raises it. Alongside it, Always On can offer eye-break, posture and hydration reminders, and a gentle late-night nudge. All of these are off or adjustable in Settings → Wellness.

Will it drain my battery?

Keeping the display awake uses more power than letting it sleep. Always On shortens its reminder and auto-off intervals when you're on battery, and stops the session automatically if the battery becomes critically low.

Can I use it with Siri or Shortcuts?

Yes — Always On provides Shortcuts actions for enabling, disabling, choosing a profile, and starting an activity-based session, so you can say things like "Keep my Mac awake while I'm on a video call".

How do I remove Always On and its data?

Drag the app to the Trash. Its settings and session history live in the app's sandbox container and are removed with it.