EyeRest is a free Chrome extension that quietly reminds you to follow the 20-20-20 rule — the habit that eye doctors actually recommend for anyone who works at a screen all day. No account. No noise. Just healthier eyes.
You don't need to think about it. EyeRest runs in the background and handles the reminding — so you can stay focused without quietly destroying your vision.
Add EyeRest to Chrome in under 30 seconds. No account, no email, no permissions beyond the bare minimum. It starts working the moment you pin it.
EyeRest fires a native Chrome alarm — the most battery-efficient method available — and invites you to take a 20-second break. No aggressive popups, no productivity guilt.
Each break walks you through a simple eye exercise based on the 20-20-20 protocol. Look 20 feet away, breathe, reset — then get straight back to what you were doing.
Studies published in the Journal of Medical Case Reports and endorsed by the American Academy of Ophthalmology confirm that regular breaks using the 20-20-20 protocol significantly reduce symptoms of Digital Eye Strain (DES) and protect macular health.
No bloat, no subscriptions. Just a well-built tool that does one thing really well — protecting your vision while you work.
Built on Chrome's native alarm API, so the timer works perfectly even when other tabs are throttled or frozen. You will not miss a break.
Step-by-step break sessions walk you through focal-shift exercises that reduce eye muscle tension and help prevent computer vision syndrome over time.
EyeRest reads your OS preference and matches it automatically. Toggle manually any time. The interface always looks at home on your screen.
Everything stays on your device. No analytics, no usage tracking, no cloud sync, no accounts. Your screen time is no one's business but yours.
Runs as a lightweight background process. You will never spot it in CPU usage, battery drain, or browser speed — until the moment a break is due.
Adjust your reminder interval, snooze length, and notification style. Whether you are deep in a sprint or in a creative flow, EyeRest bends to your rhythm.
Eye strain is one of the most commonly reported symptoms among people who work with computers. The good news: it is almost entirely preventable with the right habit. EyeRest builds that habit for you.
I've been coding for 10 years and always brushed off take-a-break advice. After three weeks with EyeRest, the afternoon headaches I'd accepted as normal just stopped. I didn't realize how much eye strain was draining me until it wasn't there anymore.
As a designer I spend 9+ hours staring at a monitor. EyeRest is the first reminder tool I've kept installed for more than a week — it doesn't interrupt you mid-thought, it just appears when the timing naturally makes sense.
The privacy angle is what got me to try it. No account, no data, open source. I checked the repo before installing. Now I have four colleagues using it because I wouldn't stop talking about it.
Every 20 minutes, look at something at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This relaxes the ciliary muscle inside your eye — which is constantly contracting when you focus on a screen — and is the most widely recommended method to reduce digital eye strain and prevent computer vision syndrome.
No. EyeRest uses Chrome's native chrome.alarms API — the same low-power mechanism Chrome itself uses for background tasks. There is no active polling, no persistent background script, and no measurable impact on performance or battery life.
Absolutely not. EyeRest has no backend, no servers, and no analytics whatsoever. Your preferences and usage never leave your device. There is no sign-up, no email required, and nothing to log into — ever. You can verify this by reading the source code on GitHub before installing.
Yes. You can change the break interval, snooze reminders for a set period, or pause the extension with one click. It is designed to work around your schedule, not against it. When you are in a meeting or a deep flow state, snooze it and it will pick back up automatically.
They solve different problems. Blue light glasses address glare and wavelength. EyeRest addresses eye muscle fatigue — the actual cause of most screen-related eye strain. They work well together. One without the other is an incomplete solution for most people who work at screens all day.
Yes. EyeRest is fully open source and every line is available on GitHub. You can read the code before installing — which is exactly how a privacy-first tool should work. No hidden scripts, no obfuscated logic, no surprises.
It takes 20 seconds to install. Most people notice the difference within a day. And it costs absolutely nothing — no premium tier, no free trial, no catch.