GlowPulse uses Mac's camera as a heart-rate sensor via rPPG technology
By
Vladislav Zhuzha
Half-baked but well-meaning. A passing snack.
Summary
GlowPulse is a macOS app by indie developer Vlad that uses the Mac's built-in camera to measure heart rate via rPPG (remote photoplethysmography) technology. The app processes microscopic color changes in skin caused by blood flow to extract heart rate data, all on-device with no cloud, account, or telemetry. Priced at $2.99 one-time, it lives in the menu bar showing live BPM, sparkline, and color-coded zones, and includes features like Pomodoro focus with live HR chart, breathing sessions with real-time HRV, and a 30-second stress check. The developer created it as an alternative to wearing an Apple Watch just for heart rate monitoring.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledA year ago I noticed I was strapping an Apple Watch on every morning mostly to see my heart rate during work – to know when stress was climbing before I burned out.
Meanwhile my Mac has a camera staring at me all day.
Turns out there's a whole research field called rPPG (remote photoplethysmography) that extracts heart rate from microscopic color changes in your skin caused by blood flow.
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