Monitoring Inactivity
Show your message when a user has stopped all activity, including clicking and scrolling.
Monitoring Inactivity is an OptiMonk trigger that fires a campaign when a visitor has stopped all interaction with the page — no clicking, no scrolling, no typing — for a specified period of time. Where most triggers respond to what a visitor is actively doing (scrolling past a threshold, spending a certain number of seconds on the page, moving the cursor toward the browser edge), the inactivity trigger responds to what a visitor has stopped doing. A visitor who has gone still on a page is in a distinctly different state from one who is actively browsing: they may be reading a product description carefully and lost in thought, distracted by something off-screen, or disengaged and about to leave without taking action. The inactivity trigger identifies this pause and uses it as the moment to surface a campaign — a gentle nudge, a time-limited offer, or a question prompt — precisely when the visitor's attention is available to be captured rather than competing with their active scrolling or clicking. The inactivity duration is configurable, and like all OptiMonk triggers, it can be combined with targeting conditions and other triggers to fire with greater precision.
Key benefits
- Reaches visitors during attention gaps rather than interrupting active engagement. A visitor who is actively scrolling through your product catalog, reading reviews, or navigating your store is already engaged — interrupting that state with a popup competes with what they are doing. The inactivity trigger fires instead during a natural pause, when the visitor's attention is momentarily unoccupied. This is a lower-friction moment for a campaign impression, making the message more likely to be read rather than immediately dismissed.
- Catches hesitating visitors before they become bouncers. A visitor who has gone still on a product or cart page is often in a moment of hesitation — they have evaluated enough to stop scrolling but have not yet committed to an action. This is one of the highest-value moments for a targeted intervention: a discount code, a free shipping reminder, a social proof message, or a chat prompt can provide exactly the push needed to move from hesitation to conversion, delivered at the moment when the visitor is most susceptible to influence.
- Complements exit-intent for a fuller coverage of departure risk. Exit-intent captures visitors who are actively moving to leave. Inactivity captures visitors who have stopped engaging but have not yet initiated departure. Together, the two triggers cover both departure modes — active and passive — ensuring that your recovery and engagement campaigns reach visitors at both the moment of movement toward the exit and the moment of stillness that often precedes it.
How it works
In your OptiMonk campaign, click Edit settings and scroll to the Settings summary. Click "Add more triggers" to view all available trigger options. Click the Plus icon next to "On inactivity" to add it to the campaign.
Configure the number of seconds of continuous inactivity that must elapse before the trigger fires. OptiMonk monitors the visitor's mouse movements, scrolling, clicking, and keyboard input simultaneously — the timer starts when all of these have been idle simultaneously and resets if any activity is detected before the threshold is reached. Choose a duration that reflects the natural reading or thinking pause on your page — typically 10 to 30 seconds, depending on the page type and content density.
Select whether the trigger should fire on PC only, mobile only, or both. Add any additional targeting conditions to scope which visitors the campaign shows to — for example, inactivity + cart value above $50 targets hesitating visitors with a meaningful amount already in their cart. Save the trigger and publish the campaign.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Monitoring Inactivity trigger in OptiMonk?+
The Monitoring Inactivity trigger fires a campaign after a visitor has stopped all page interaction — no mouse movement, scrolling, clicking, or keyboard input — for a configured number of seconds. It is designed to reach visitors during natural attention pauses rather than interrupting active browsing, and is particularly effective for engaging hesitating visitors on product and cart pages who have stopped engaging but have not yet left.
What counts as inactivity for OptiMonk's trigger?+
OptiMonk monitors four types of visitor activity simultaneously: mouse movement, scrolling, mouse clicks, and keyboard input. A visitor is considered inactive when all four have been absent for the configured duration. The inactivity timer starts as soon as all activity ceases and resets immediately if any of the four signals are detected — ensuring the trigger only fires during a genuine continuous pause rather than brief gaps between actions.
How long should I set the inactivity duration?+
The optimal duration depends on your page type and content. For content-heavy pages — long product descriptions, ingredient lists, technical specifications — a pause of 15 to 30 seconds may indicate genuine reading or consideration and is a good window for a trigger. For simpler pages with less content to read, 8 to 15 seconds may be more appropriate. The goal is to distinguish a genuine attention pause from the brief gaps between natural scrolling actions — testing a few durations and comparing conversion rates is the most reliable way to find the right threshold for your specific pages.
Can I combine the inactivity trigger with exit-intent on the same campaign?+
Yes. Multiple triggers can be added to the same campaign, and OptiMonk fires the campaign when any of the configured triggers is met first. Combining inactivity (fires after a pause) and exit-intent (fires when departure is detected) creates a campaign that reaches visitors at two different high-opportunity moments — during hesitation and at the point of departure — with a single campaign configuration rather than two separate campaigns.
Does the inactivity trigger work on mobile devices?+
Yes. The inactivity trigger is available for both desktop and mobile, and the device selector in the trigger settings lets you configure it for PC only, mobile only, or both. On mobile, inactivity is detected through the absence of touch, scrolling, and tap interactions rather than mouse movement, but the underlying mechanism — monitoring for a continuous absence of all page interaction — works the same way across both device types.
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