What is attentionawarenessd?

attentionawarenessd is a process on Macs with a TrueDepth camera or advanced sensor system.

What is attentionawarenessd?

attentionawarenessd works out whether you are looking at your Mac's screen. It uses the camera or sensor system to tell if someone is paying attention to the display.

What features use it?

Attention awareness supports:

• Display dimming: keeping the screen bright while you are looking at it, even if you have not touched the keyboard or trackpad lately
• Notification behaviour: adjusting notifications based on whether you are at your Mac
• Screen lock timing: holding off the screen lock while you are looking at the display

How does it detect attention?

On Macs with the right hardware, the system uses face detection and gaze guessing to tell if you are looking at the screen. This processing happens on your device. No images or attention data are sent anywhere else.

Does it use the camera all the time?

The attention detection uses low-power processing that does not fire up the full camera pipeline. The green camera light behaviour depends on how it is set up. Lightweight sensor checks may not trigger it.

Should you worry?

No. It is a handy feature that keeps your Mac awake while you are using it. The processing is local and private.

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