I’ve spent years staring at my Mac screen for extended reading sessions, and somewhere along the way, I noticed how my eyes would wander to notification badges, menu bar icons, and background windows. Every distraction pulled me away from the article or document I was actually trying to read. I’d lose my place, re-read the same paragraph three times, and eventually give up in frustration.
Glide addresses this problem with an elegantly simple approach. It’s a focus pointer that dims everything on your screen except the area around your cursor. The effect is immediate and surprisingly effective. When you activate it, your entire display darkens, but the region near your mouse pointer remains bright and clear. As you move your cursor down the page while reading, the spotlight follows along, keeping your attention exactly where it needs to be.
What makes Glide particularly useful is that you can still interact with your entire screen while it’s active. Unlike some focus tools that lock you into specific windows or zones, Glide just dims the surrounding areas without blocking access to anything. Need to click a button in the corner? Go ahead. Want to check something in another window? The dimming adjusts as you move. This interactivity sets it apart from simple screen overlay tools that essentially trap you in a box.
I’ve been working with Glide on my Mac Mini M4 running macOS Sonoma, and the customization options deserve mention. You can adjust the size and shape of the focus area, control how dark the dimmed regions become, and even change the height of the highlighted reading zone. The app includes multiple indicator styles to suit different preferences, and you can flip the dimmer orientation if you prefer. There’s also a keyboard shortcut to freeze the overlay in place when you need to reference specific screen areas without moving your cursor.
The app sits in your menu bar and launches quickly when needed. At 9.6 MB, it’s a lightweight utility that doesn’t consume significant system resources. The developer, Applorium Ltd, has designed it to work on macOS 10.15 Catalina or newer, meaning it supports both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs without issues.
Glide costs $6.99 on the App Store. While the app hasn’t accumulated substantial user reviews yet, the pricing seems fair for a focused utility that genuinely addresses a specific productivity challenge. There are no subscriptions, no in-app purchases, and according to the privacy details, the app collects zero user data.
The main limitation is fairly obvious. This tool works best for reading and focused work on documents or web pages. If you’re doing design work, video editing, or anything requiring constant peripheral vision across your entire screen, the dimming effect will probably frustrate more than help. It’s a specialized tool for a specific problem, not a universal productivity enhancer.
I should mention that users with ADHD or dyslexia might find this particularly valuable. The ability to block out visual noise and maintain focus on a single reading zone addresses real challenges that many people face daily. If you struggle with reading on screens or find yourself constantly distracted by the digital clutter surrounding your work, Glide offers a straightforward solution without complicated setup or learning curves.
After several weeks of use, I’ve found myself activating Glide whenever I need to read anything longer than a few paragraphs. It’s become one of those utilities I reach for automatically when settling in for focused reading time. The app does exactly what it promises, and for anyone who battles screen-based reading fatigue or distraction, that $6.99 investment might be the best decision you make this month.
