iOS App
Focus a while. A pet takes the break with you.
Pet Pause is a quiet Pomodoro timer for iPhone and iPad. Start a focus block and the app gets out of your way — the countdown lives on your Dynamic Island and lock screen. When the session ends, a small companion slides into view and stays for the whole break.
What it is
A timer that gives you a reason to actually stop
Most focus timers end with a beep you swipe away and a next block you start straight after. Pet Pause ends with an animal sitting in the middle of your screen, doing nothing in particular, for as long as the break lasts. It turns out to be much harder to skip a break when someone is already waiting it out with you. That's the whole app — no streaks, no scores, no productivity dashboard.
How it works
How it works
- Step 1
Set your block
Anywhere from 1 to 90 minutes of focus, and 1 to 60 minutes of break. Sensible defaults are already there if you'd rather not think about it.
- Step 2
Start it and look away
The countdown ring runs on the Dynamic Island and lock screen the way Apple's own Timer does, so you don't need the app on screen to know where you are.
- Step 3
A pet joins your break
When focus ends you get a notification, and the companion you picked comes out and stays until the break is over.
- Step 4
Back to it
Tap through to the next block, or skip the break if you're on a roll. Nobody is keeping score.
Features
What's in it
Live Activity
Countdown ring and MM:SS on the Dynamic Island and lock screen. Needs iOS 16.1 or later; the lock-screen countdown works on every supported device.
Your own durations
Focus from 1 to 90 minutes, breaks from 1 to 60. Change either one whenever you like.
A cast of companions
Choose which one shows up on your breaks. More are on the way.
Light and dark
Follows your system theme, or stays pinned to whichever you prefer.
Nothing collected
No analytics, no accounts, no ads, no third-party SDKs. Your durations, your pet and your theme never leave your iPhone.
English and 简体中文
Set the app's language independently of your phone's.
Break buddies
About the break buddies
Pet Pause comes with a small cast of illustrated companions, and you pick which one keeps you company. It's the same cast you'll find in Pet Gatekeeper on desktop.
Want it to be your own cat or dog?
That part lives on desktop today. Pet Gatekeeper turns 1–4 photos of your own pet into a transparent video that takes over your screen once you've been doomscrolling too long — in the Chrome, Edge and Firefox extension, and in the Mac and Windows apps. Bringing your own pet into Pet Pause is on the list.
FAQ
Questions
Pet Pause
Take your breaks with company
Pet Pause is free on the App Store. And when you want the pet on screen to be your own cat or dog, that part starts here.