Inactive Tab Suspender Reminder

WHAT IT DOES

Inactive Tab Suspender Reminder tracks how long a tab has been in the background (not in focus) and displays a notification when it has been inactive for a user-defined period. The notification suggests suspending or closing the tab to free up memory and reduce system resource usage. You can choose to suspend the tab (clearing its content and showing a placeholder), close it, or keep it open. The extension uses the Page Visibility API to accurately detect when a tab is backgrounded, and tracks the total inactive time even across multiple background sessions. You can set the inactivity threshold from 5 to 60 minutes, choose how often reminders appear (once per session, every time, or once per day), and customize per-site settings for different domains.

WHERE IT RUNS

The extension works on every website with Page Visibility API support, including complex single-page applications, traditional websites, and any page that can be backgrounded in a tab. It runs locally in your browser, tracking tab visibility using the browser's built-in APIs without sending any data to external servers. The extension supports all major browsers and adapts to both desktop and mobile viewports seamlessly.

HOW TO USE

After installation, the extension automatically starts tracking tab inactivity. When a tab has been in the background for the configured time (default: 15 minutes), a notification appears in the center of the screen when you return to the tab. The notification shows how long the tab was inactive and provides three options: "Keep Open" (dismiss the reminder), "Suspend" (clear the page content and show a placeholder), or "Close" (close the tab). To customize the experience, open the extension panel and set your inactivity threshold (5, 10, 15, 30, or 60 minutes). Choose the reminder frequency: Once per session, Every time the threshold is reached, or Once per day. Toggle "Show notification when inactive" to enable or disable the reminder. For per-site customization, set a unique threshold for specific websites using the per-site controls.

THE ACTUAL MECHANISM — PAGE VISIBILITY API WITH INACTIVITY TIMER AND THRESHOLD CHECK

The extension uses the Page Visibility API (`document.hidden` and the `visibilitychange` event) to detect when the tab is backgrounded or brought back into focus. When the tab becomes hidden, the extension records the timestamp of the visibility change. When the tab becomes visible again, it calculates the elapsed time since the tab was hidden and adds it to the total inactive time. The total inactive time accumulates across multiple background sessions. A periodic check (every 30 seconds) compares the total inactive time against the user-defined threshold. If the threshold is exceeded, the extension triggers a reminder notification if one hasn't been shown recently (based on the reminder frequency setting). The reminder is shown as a modal dialog with buttons for Keep Open, Suspend, and Close. The "Suspend" action clears the page's DOM and sets a click-to-reload placeholder, effectively freeing memory. User activity (mouse movement, clicks, keypresses, scrolling) in the active tab resets the inactive timer, as the tab is considered active when the user interacts with it. Per-site thresholds and enabled states are stored using GM_setValue with domain-specific keys.

THE PANEL

The settings panel is a lightweight, draggable overlay that appears in the center of your screen. You can reposition it by clicking and dragging the title bar; release it near the screen edge and it will snap into place automatically. To collapse the panel into a compact title bar, click the minimize button, expanding it again with the same control. The panel is fully responsive, adapting to different screen resolutions with a minimum width of 300px and a maximum of 480px. Press the Escape key at any time to dismiss the panel without applying changes. All controls—the enable/disable toggle, check inactive time button, reset timer button, threshold selector, reminder frequency selector, notification toggle, auto-suspend toggle, per-site threshold override, and per-site enable/disable controls—are accessible within a clean, high-contrast interface that respects your system's color scheme.

PLEASE NOTE

This extension requires the free BotGentz companion extension to be installed and active, which provides the underlying DOM access and storage engine. The extension tracks inactivity at the tab level using the Page Visibility API, which is supported in all modern browsers. The "Suspend" feature clears the page DOM and replaces it with a placeholder—this may not work correctly on pages that use complex JavaScript or iframe content. The "Close" feature attempts to close the tab using `window.close()`, which may not work on tabs that were not opened by JavaScript. No personal data, browsing history, or tab data is ever collected, stored, or transmitted. All settings are saved using the browser's storage API and remain solely on your device. The extension does not inject ads, trackers, or analytics of any kind.