Distraction Blocker overlay repeatedly reappears after “Not a distraction” (not related to notification spam)

Product/Feature: Rize Distraction Blocker (overlay behavior)

Description:
I’m experiencing repeated Distraction Blocker overlays appearing every few seconds, even after explicitly marking the content as “This is not a distraction.”

This is different from the known “notification spam” issue discussed here:
https://rize.featurebase.app/p/getting-distracted-notification-spam

In my case, it is not just notifications, but the actual blocking overlay interrupting the workflow.

Observed behavior:

  • The Distraction Blocker overlay appears.

  • I click “This is not a distraction.”

  • Within ~3–4 seconds, the overlay appears again.

  • This can repeat multiple times in a row.

  • Happens more frequently when multiple windows are open across multiple displays.

  • “Disable blocker for this focus session” only temporarily helps; the overlay may return later.

Expected behavior:

  • “This is not a distraction” should suppress the blocker for that context (app/site/window).

  • The overlay should not reappear immediately for the same or equivalent context.

  • Disabling the blocker for the session should fully prevent further overlays during that session.

Environment / usage context:

  • Multiple displays

  • Many open windows simultaneously

  • Likely multiple windows/apps classified as distractions at once

Steps to reproduce:

  1. Start a focus session with Distraction Blocker enabled.

  2. Open multiple windows (including at least one classified as a distraction).

  3. Wait for the blocker overlay.

  4. Click “This is not a distraction.”

  5. Observe the overlay reappearing within a few seconds.

  6. Repeat and observe multiple consecutive overlays.

Impact:

  • Significantly disrupts workflow due to repeated blocking overlays

  • Makes “not a distraction” action ineffective

  • Especially problematic for multi-monitor, multi-window workflows

Additional note:
This appears to be separate from notification spam issues, as the disruptive element is the blocking overlay itself, not background notifications.

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Upvoters
Status

In Review

Board
🐛

Bug Reports

Date

2 days ago

Author

Péter Nyári

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