Instapaper founder's new Mac app can automatically quit distracting software

Developer Marco Arment designed Instapaper to let him read more, but his more recent apps seem more focused on distracting you less, as the release of the ad-blocking Peace last year shows. Arment's latest app follows this trend — called Quitter, the software can automatically hide or quit apps that you feel are taking up too much of your time, closing them after a set period of inactivity. Users can choose how long they want to wait before the selected software is removed from view, meaning distracting Twitter apps or IM clients can be closed after a minute, or email inboxes after half an hour of not being accessed.

Arment's app — his first for Mac — is not available on the App Store, but can be downloaded free from his website. The developer recommends users also disable the "keep in dock" command for apps they do want to automatically close, lest they end up spying the icon and getting distracted all over again.

• Via9to5Mac
• SourceMarco Arment