Dorso

A macOS app that blurs your screen when you slouch.

Dorso monitors your posture in real-time using either your Mac's camera or AirPods motion sensors. When it detects that you're slouching, it progressively blurs your screen to remind you to sit up straight. Maintain good posture, and the blur clears instantly.

Join our Discord to share feedback, get help, suggest features, and connect with other Dorso users!

Screenshots

Features

• Two tracking methods - Use your camera (Vision framework) or AirPods motion sensors
• AirPods motion tracking - Track posture without camera using AirPods Pro, Max, or 3rd gen+ (macOS 14+)
• Progressive screen blur - Gentle visual reminder that intensifies with worse posture
• Menu bar controls - Easy access to settings, calibration, and status from the menu bar
• Multi-display support - Works across all connected monitors
• Privacy-focused - All processing happens locally on your Mac
• Lightweight - Runs as a background app with minimal resource usage
• Optional Dock visibility - Show in Dock and Cmd+Tab app switcher when preferred
• No account required - No signup, no cloud, no tracking

Installation

Homebrew (Recommended)

brew install dorso

Manual Download

1. Download the latest Dorso-vX.X.X.dmg or .zip from the Releases page
2. Open the DMG and drag Dorso.app to your Applications folder
3. Launch normally - no Gatekeeper warnings (app is signed and notarized)

Permissions

Camera Mode: Requires camera access. When you first launch the app, macOS will ask for permission.

AirPods Mode: Requires Motion & Fitness Activity permission (macOS 14+). This allows the app to read head motion data from your AirPods.

If you accidentally denied permission, you can grant it later in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Camera or Motion & Fitness Activity.

Usage

Once launched, Dorso appears in your menu bar with a person icon. The app continuously monitors your posture and applies screen blur when slouching is detected.

Menu Bar Controls

Click the menu bar icon to access:

• Status - Shows current state (Monitoring, Slouching, Good Posture, etc.)
• Enabled - Toggle posture monitoring on/off
• Recalibrate - Reset your baseline posture (sit up straight, then click)
• Settings - Open the settings window to configure all options
• Quit - Exit the application

Settings Window

The Settings window (accessible from the menu bar) provides:

• Sensitivity - Adjust how sensitive the slouch detection is (5 levels from Low to Very High)
• Dead Zone - Set the tolerance before blur kicks in (5 levels from None to Very Large)
• Blur when away - Blur screen when you step away from camera
• Show in dock - Show app in Dock and Cmd+Tab app switcher
• Pause on the go - Auto-pause when laptop display becomes the only screen
• Compatibility mode - Use public macOS APIs for blur (try this if blur doesn't appear)

Tips for Best Results

• Position your camera at eye level when possible
• Ensure adequate lighting on your face
• Sit at a consistent distance from your screen
• The app works best when your shoulders are visible

How It Works

Dorso offers two tracking methods:

Camera Mode

Uses Apple's Vision framework to detect body pose landmarks:

• Body Pose Detection: Tracks nose and head position
• Face Detection Fallback: When full body isn't visible, tracks face position
• Posture Analysis: Measures vertical head position against your calibrated baseline

AirPods Mode

Uses motion sensors in compatible AirPods (Pro, Max, 3rd gen+):

• Head Tilt Detection: Tracks pitch angle of your head
• No Camera Required: Works without any camera access
• Automatic Pause: Pauses when AirPods are removed from ears

The screen blur uses macOS's private CoreGraphics API by default for efficient, system-level blur. If the blur doesn't appear on your system, enable Compatibility Mode from settings to use NSVisualEffectView instead.

Building from Source

Requirements

• macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later
• Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install)

Build

git clone https://github.com/tldev/dorso.git
cd dorso
./build.sh

The built app will be in build/Dorso.app.

Build Options

# Standard build
./build.sh

# Build with release archive (.zip)
./build.sh --release

Manual Build

swiftc -O \
    -framework AppKit \
    -framework AVFoundation \
    -framework Vision \
    -framework CoreImage \
    -o Dorso \
    Sources/*.swift

Known Limitations

• Camera mode: Requires a working camera with adequate lighting and clear view of upper body/face
• AirPods mode: Requires macOS 14.0+ and compatible AirPods (Pro, Max, or 3rd generation+)

Command Interface

Dorso exposes a file-based command interface for external control:

Command	Description
capture	Take a photo and analyze pose
blur <0-64>	Set blur level manually
quit	Exit the application

Write commands to /tmp/dorso-command. Responses appear in /tmp/dorso-response.

System Requirements

• macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later
• Camera (built-in or external)
• Approximately 10MB disk space

Privacy

Dorso processes all video data locally on your Mac. No images or data are ever sent to external servers. The camera feed is used solely for posture detection and is never stored or transmitted.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

Project Structure

dorso/
├── Sources/
│   ├── main.swift                  # App entry point
│   ├── AppDelegate.swift           # Main app coordinator and state machine
│   ├── PostureDetector.swift       # Protocol for posture detection methods
│   ├── CameraPostureDetector.swift # Camera-based detection (Vision framework)
│   ├── AirPodsPostureDetector.swift # AirPods motion-based detection
│   ├── Models.swift                # Shared types (settings keys, profile data, app state)
│   ├── Persistence.swift           # Settings and profile storage
│   ├── DisplayManager.swift        # Display detection and configuration
│   ├── MenuBar.swift               # Menu bar setup and management
│   ├── SettingsWindow.swift        # SwiftUI settings window
│   ├── OnboardingWindow.swift      # Tracking method selection UI
│   ├── CalibrationWindow.swift     # Calibration UI
│   └── BlurOverlay.swift           # Screen blur overlay management
├── build.sh                        # Build script
├── release.sh                      # Release automation
└── AppIcon.icns                    # App icon

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues and pull requests.

Acknowledgments

• Built with Apple's Vision framework for body pose detection
• Uses private CoreGraphics API for blur, with NSVisualEffectView fallback
• Inspired by the need for better posture during long coding sessions

Linux version

Want this on Linux? See postured or dorso-linux.

Contributors

• @kimik-hyum - AirPods motion tracking, forward-head posture detection
• @wklm - Compatibility mode implementation
• @cam-br0wn - Dock/App Switcher visibility toggle
• @einsteinx2 - SwiftPM/Xcode support
• @ssisk - Screen lock pause feature suggestion
• @gcanyon - Warning onset delay feature suggestion
• @javabudd - Analytics dashboard
• @danielroek - "None" warning style option
• @claaslange - Camera compatibility issue with professional cameras
• @lucapericlp - Settings profiles feature
• @DengNaichen - Sleep/wake camera detection fix
• @Shadow1363 - Camera-active-while-disabled bug report and reproduction details
• @bradystroud - Automatic source switching feature suggestion
• @emmanuelprecieuxargent - Improved French and Spanish translations
• @shencangsheng - AirPods 4 compatibility detection report
• @zhouyeyu - Initial fix for warning overlays and calibration over fullscreen apps