The Story Behind ActivityWatch

I started building ActivityWatch because I was frustrated with RescueTime. As someone who wanted to understand how I spent my time on the computer, I had been a RescueTime user for years. But over time, the problems kept piling up:

  • My data wasn’t mine. RescueTime stores everything on their servers. I had no way to self-host or keep my data local. For something as personal as a complete log of everything I do on my computer, that felt wrong.
  • It wasn’t open source. When I found bugs — like Xbox controller input being tracked incorrectly — I couldn’t fix them myself. I filed reports, but they went nowhere.
  • Linux support was an afterthought. As a Linux user, I was a second-class citizen. The Linux client was always behind, and eventually RescueTime dropped Linux support entirely.
  • “Pay or lose your history.” The free tier only showed the last 3 months. Want to see your all-time data? Pay up. It felt like they were holding my own data hostage.
  • No extensibility. I couldn’t add custom watchers, build integrations, or extend the tracking in any meaningful way. What you got was what you got.

So I built ActivityWatch — a free, open-source, privacy-first time tracker that keeps your data on your device and lets you extend it however you want.

Feature Comparison

Here’s how ActivityWatch compares to RescueTime in 2026:

Feature ActivityWatch RescueTime
Price Free and open-source $12/month (Premium)
Data storage Local (your device) Cloud (their servers)
Linux support Full support Discontinued
Open source Yes (MPL-2.0) No
Custom watchers Yes — write your own No
Browser tracking Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera Chrome, Firefox, Edge
Offline tracking Yes Limited
API access Full local REST API Limited API
Self-hosting Built-in (it’s local-first) Not available
Data export Full export anytime Limited in free tier
Distraction blocking Via third-party tools Built-in (Premium)
Team features Coming soon Available (Premium)
Mobile tracking Android Android, iOS

Where ActivityWatch Wins

Privacy and Data Ownership

This is the fundamental difference. ActivityWatch stores all your data locally on your device. No cloud accounts, no data uploads, no risk of a company going under and taking your data with it. You own your data, period.

Extensibility

ActivityWatch has a modular architecture. The core is a local server that stores events from “watchers” — small programs that observe different things. You can write your own watchers for anything: IDE activity, music listening, exercise, or whatever you want to track.

The community has built watchers for:

  • VS Code and JetBrains IDEs
  • Spotify and media players
  • VR headsets
  • Custom hardware

Cross-Platform (Including Linux)

ActivityWatch runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. When RescueTime dropped Linux in 2024, many users switched to ActivityWatch. We’re committed to supporting all major platforms — it’s a core part of who we are.

No Paywalls on Your Own Data

All your data is always accessible. There’s no “upgrade to see your history” or “pay to unlock analytics.” Every feature is available to every user.

Where RescueTime Still Has an Edge

To be fair, RescueTime does some things well:

  • Built-in distraction blocking — FocusTime lets you block distracting websites. ActivityWatch focuses on tracking; for blocking, you can use tools like Cold Turkey or LeechBlock.
  • Team management — RescueTime has built-in team dashboards and management features. ActivityWatch is primarily designed for individuals (though team features are on our roadmap).
  • iOS support — RescueTime has an iOS app. ActivityWatch currently only supports Android for mobile.
  • Polished onboarding — RescueTime has a smoother out-of-box experience for non-technical users. We’re actively working on improving our onboarding.

Migrating from RescueTime

Switching to ActivityWatch is straightforward:

  1. Download ActivityWatch from activitywatch.net/downloads
  2. Install and run — it starts tracking immediately
  3. Install the browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, or Edge
  4. Check the dashboard at localhost:5600 to see your data

Your RescueTime data can be exported and potentially imported — check our documentation for details on data import options.

What Users Say

People who switched from RescueTime consistently highlight:

“I switched when RescueTime dropped Linux. ActivityWatch is better in every way — I can actually see all my data without paying.”

“As a developer, the extensibility is what sold me. I wrote a custom watcher for my terminal in an afternoon.”

“The privacy aspect is huge. I don’t want a company having a complete log of everything I do on my computer.”

Try ActivityWatch

ActivityWatch is free, open-source, and takes about two minutes to set up. Download it at activitywatch.net/downloads and see for yourself.

If you’re coming from RescueTime, you’ll find that ActivityWatch tracks everything RescueTime did — and more — while keeping your data private and giving you full control.

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