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AwakeTab vs mouse jigglers

They do different jobs. A mouse jiggler fakes pointer movement, from a USB device or an app, so the computer and your chat apps think someone is at the desk. AwakeTab keeps the display on through the browser's Screen Wake Lock API and sends no input at all. The screen stays lit, and Teams or Slack still set you to Away when you stop typing.

Sources checked Saturday, 26 September 20264 min readBy Soubhik Biswas

Side by side

A hardware jiggler plugs into USB, presents itself as a mouse and nudges the pointer now and then. A software jiggler does the same from an app, or sends key presses. Either way the operating system sees input, so every idle timer resets: the screen timeout, sleep, and the inactivity timers chat apps use for presence.

AwakeTab makes a different request. The browser asks the operating system to keep the display on, the way a video player does during playback. Nothing is typed and nothing moves, so the timers that watch for input keep counting. Microsoft Teams sets Away after about 5 minutes without keyboard or mouse activity (Microsoft Learn), and Slack after about 10 minutes of desktop inactivity (Slack Help), both checked 26 September 2026. Does keeping your screen on keep Teams green? walks through what sets each status.

How it keeps the screen onAwakeTab: Screen Wake Lock API, no inputUSB mouse jiggler: A device the computer treats as a mouseSoftware jiggler: An app that moves the pointer or sends keys
With the tab hidden or no window openAwakeTab: Stops. The pill says "Paused — tab hidden" and asks again when you return.USB mouse jiggler: Keeps working, no tab involvedSoftware jiggler: Keeps working
Changes chat statusAwakeTab: NoUSB mouse jiggler: Yes, it looks like activitySoftware jiggler: Usually
InstallAwakeTab: None, open a web pageUSB mouse jiggler: Plug inSoftware jiggler: Install an app
PlatformsAwakeTab: Current Chrome, Edge, Firefox and SafariUSB mouse jiggler: Any computer with USBSoftware jiggler: Depends on the app
PriceAwakeTab: Free, with optional ProUSB mouse jiggler: About $4 to $40 (Banking Dive, June 2024)Software jiggler: Often free

When a jiggler is the better choice

A jiggler does a real job on a computer you own. In these cases we would send you there. On a work computer, whether simulated input is acceptable is your employer's call, not a tool's.

  1. Your own machine has no usable browserAn old computer or a dedicated rig running one native app full screen can't show a tab beside it. A USB device needs no software on the machine at all.
  2. An app on your own computer times out on inputSome programs log out or pause after a spell without input, and keeping the screen lit does nothing for them. There a jiggler addresses that timer and AwakeTab can't.

When AwakeTab is the better choice

These are the jobs AwakeTab was built for.

  1. You need the screen on for a reason anyone can seeReading a long report, watching a dashboard, following a recipe or presenting. Keep a work laptop display awake covers the office case.
  2. You'd rather not have to explain itAwakeTab doesn't fake activity, doesn't change your status and leaves sign-in and lock policies alone. If your employer has rules about screen locking, follow them.
  3. You want to know it's workingRead the state at a glance: "Screen awake" while the lock holds, "Paused — tab hidden" after you switch away.

Presence, policy and the Wells Fargo case

Employers can treat simulated activity as misconduct. Bloomberg reported in June 2024 that Wells Fargo had dismissed more than a dozen employees over "simulation of keyboard activity". That is why AwakeTab refuses to fake input.

If the worry is a grey dot while you read, the fixes are human ones: a status that says what you're doing, time blocked in your calendar, a word with your manager. For how a lit screen differs from a locked one, see Lock screen versus display sleep.

Try it hereTry itStart a session, switch tabs, then come back and watch the pill. Ends at … if you start now.Start a 1-hour session

Questions

No. It never moves the pointer or presses a key. It asks your browser to keep the display on, the same request a video player makes during playback, and it shows you whether the browser said yes.

Soubhik Biswas · Builds AwakeTab. Sources checked Saturday, 26 September 2026. About AwakeTab