This Mac App Automatically Turns on Do Not Disturb Mode While You’re on the Phone
Imagine having incredibly awkward text appear on your screen during your online presentation. Now imagine never having to worry about that again. On Air Mode is a free Mac app that does just one thing: puts your Mac into Do Not Disturb mode whenever your microphone is activated.
The idea is that having your microphone on means you’re either talking to someone or recording something — two situations where you’d rather not see notifications or be distracted. If you’re sharing your screen during a meeting, you’re likely to end up with something unprofessional on your screen. Sure, you might remember to turn on Do Not Disturb on your Mac before you start talking, but let’s be honest: Sometimes you forget.
To get started, simply install the app from the App Store and launch it. When you first launch it, you will be prompted to set the “On Air Mode Shortcut” shortcut – this shortcut is required for On Air Mode to work.
Do this, and the app will launch from the menu bar. You can test it by opening the Voice Recorder app and recording something – you’ll see Do Not Disturb mode activate as soon as you start recording. Stop recording, and Do Not Disturb mode will turn off again.
It’s interesting to see how an app developer uses shortcuts in their workflow. We’ve already talked about shortcuts that can automate tasks on your Mac , and this is another example.
The app, developed by Nikita Varentsov , is free and private. “On Air Mode uses system hardware APIs to detect device activity without accessing audio content,” the app’s description says. “No recording, no data collection, no cloud services — everything happens locally on your device.”
If you’re regularly distracted (or embarrassed) by notifications during meetings, try this app. No one wants to see personal messages on their screen during a presentation.