Keep That Mouse Moving Chrome Extension

Keep That Mouse Moving — Chrome Extension

Keep That Mouse Moving is a small Chrome extension that prevents your computer from going idle. It simulates gentle activity inside the active tab so the browser keeps reporting “active” to the OS and to web apps that track idle status.

What it does

Most operating systems lock the screen, dim the display, or trigger screensavers after a few minutes of no input. Web apps — Slack, Teams, web chat tools, status pages — often switch your status to Away based on the same signals. Keep That Mouse Moving prevents that by emitting periodic, non-disruptive activity events on the page you’re on:

  • Mouse-move events
  • Periodic focus pings
  • A small interval-based “still here” heartbeat

It does not move your physical mouse cursor across the screen — that would interrupt actual work. It emits the events that web apps and the browser listen for, without disturbing what you’re doing.

Who it’s for

  • Anyone running long downloads, builds, renders, or training jobs and tired of typing their password every five minutes
  • Remote workers whose status indicator flips to “Away” the second they stop clicking
  • People reading long articles or documentation who don’t want their screen to lock mid-sentence
  • Presenters keeping a tab live while talking through it

How it differs from alternatives

Hardware “mouse jiggler” USB devices exist and work at the OS level — they actually move the mouse cursor. They’re effective but cost money, occupy a USB port, and physically move your pointer (annoying when the dongle fires while you’re trying to click something).

Native apps like Caffeine (macOS) or PowerToys Awake (Windows) prevent OS sleep but do not always prevent web-app idle detection — many web apps use the page Visibility API and their own activity heuristics, which native sleep-prevention does not address.

Keep That Mouse Moving operates in the browser tab, so it directly addresses web-app idle detection — which is the actual problem most remote workers have. It also has zero cost, zero hardware, and is removable in one click.

What it does NOT do

  • It does not move the physical OS mouse cursor
  • It does not bypass enterprise idle-monitoring tools that operate at the OS level
  • It is not a way to fake productivity — it just stops well-meaning idle detectors interrupting genuine activity

If your employer monitors you with OS-level tools, this extension will not change what those tools see. It only affects browser-level and web-app idle detection.

Install and use

  1. Install from the Chrome Web Store
  2. Pin the icon to your toolbar
  3. Click the icon to toggle activity simulation on or off
  4. Optionally configure the heartbeat interval (default 60s)

The extension shows a small badge on the icon when active, so you always know whether it’s running. Toggle it off the moment you don’t need it.

Privacy

Keep That Mouse Moving runs entirely in your browser. It does not collect any data, contact any external server, or include analytics. The only “permission” it needs is to inject its small heartbeat script into the active tab.

Use cases

  • Long Zoom or Teams calls where you’ve stepped away briefly to grab coffee
  • Reading documentation or specs without the screen locking on you
  • Watching a long video on a tab that doesn’t pause-on-blur
  • Uploading or downloading large files and not wanting the session to time out
  • Running a slow CI build in a tab and keeping the OAuth session alive

Frequently asked questions

Will my employer's monitoring tools detect this?

Possibly. Enterprise monitoring tools that operate at the OS level (key/mouse hooks, application-list watchers) are unaffected by this extension because it operates inside the browser. Use it only for legitimate purposes — keeping a session alive while you read, etc. — not to fake activity to your employer.

Does it physically move the mouse?

No. It emits the JavaScript events web apps and the browser use to detect activity. Your physical cursor stays where you left it.

Will it stop my OS from locking the screen?

Sometimes. Modern operating systems use multiple signals; the extension's emitted activity may register with some OS idle-detection paths but not all. For guaranteed OS-level wake, use a native tool like Caffeine (macOS) or PowerToys Awake (Windows) alongside this extension.

Is it free?

Yes — completely free, no signup, no paid tier.

See also: all Ataiva Chrome extensions