AniMates

Your people and pets on a bench, somewhere beautiful, all day long.

AniMates is a live wallpaper for Windows. Choose who sits on the bench, and watch the light change over 251 places, with your weather, the seasons and your special days.

Coming in November Try it in your browser Free for 14 days, no card needed, on a Mac too

251 places to sit

The Seine at golden hour, the lights of Brooklyn, Kirkjufell under the aurora, the Corniche in Beirut. The bench moves somewhere new every half hour, or stays where you love it. Make playlists of your favourites.

  • The bench by the Seine at golden hour, the Eiffel Tower behind
    The Seine, ParisFrance
  • Oia's white houses above the sea by day
    Oia, SantoriniGreece
  • Mount Fuji over Lake Kawaguchi at sunset
    Lake KawaguchiJapan
  • Kirkjufell under the northern lights
    KirkjufellIceland
  • Red desert rocks at Wadi Rum in the evening
    Wadi RumJordan
  • The Manhattan skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge at night
    Brooklyn Bridge Park, New YorkUSA
  • Granite boulders and a white beach in the Seychelles
    Anse Source d'ArgentSeychelles
  • Red fishing huts under steep peaks at dawn in Lofoten
    Reine, LofotenNorway
  • The seafront Corniche in Beirut at golden hour
    The Corniche, BeirutLebanon
  • Cherry trees in blossom around a pond
    Cherry Blossom PondJapan
  • The Burj Khalifa lit up at night over Burj Lake
    Burj Lake, DubaiUnited Arab Emirates
  • An acacia tree on the Serengeti plain at sunset
    SerengetiTanzania

And Valensole's lavender, Table Mountain, Reykjavík's coloured roofs, an alpine lake, and a couple of hundred more.

It keeps your day

The sun comes up when it comes up where you are, and sets on time. When it rains at home, it rains on the bench; in winter the snow settles and the hats come out.

  1. An alpine lake at dawn
  2. The same lake in the afternoon
  3. The same lake at golden hour
  4. The same lake at night under the stars
  • Rain falling on the lake
    Rain at home, rain on the lake
  • Snow falling on the lake, the couple in winter hats
    Snow, and winter hats
  • Morning fog over the lake
    A foggy morning

Special days come to the bench

Add birthdays, anniversaries and the day a pet came home, and the bench dresses up for them. 18 holidays from cultures and faiths around the world are there to switch on, and some landmarks put on their real shows on their real schedules.

  • The couple in party hats among lavender fields at golden hour
    Birthdays and anniversariesParty hats for whoever's day it is, and a little burst when it starts.
  • Snow in Brooklyn at night, Santa hats, lights and a tree by the bench
    Holidays you celebrateChristmas lights in Brooklyn, fireworks for Eid and Diwali, clouds of colour for Holi.
  • The Eiffel Tower sparkling at night over the Seine
    Landmark showsThe Eiffel Tower sparkles on the hour after dark, and the Dubai Fountain dances.
The AniMates wallpaper with a clock, the date, the weather and the place in the corner

Widgets that sit in the sky

A clock, your weather and the place's name to start with, and more when you want them. Drag them anywhere, on each monitor.

  • Countdowns and Together: the days until, and the days since.
  • Love notes, a to-do list and photo memories in a polaroid.
  • Focus timer and gentle nudges to drink water and look away.
  • Now playing and your PC: music controls, CPU and battery.
Settings open as a little book, showing the theme choices for the widgets

Fifteen themes

Each one is a whole look for the clock, the widgets and the place card: plain type on the scene, refined glass, a postcard with a stamp, a dog tag, cozy knit, fairy lights and more. Settings comes as a slim sheet or as a little book with tabs, whichever you prefer.

The Someone far away settings: their name, their city and the day you meet again

Someone far away

For the one in another city. A widget shows their time, the part of their day, their weather, the distance between you and the days until you're together. Or put the bench near them, under their sky.

Arriving with AniMates accounts

Notes and photos from your people

Send a few words or a photo to the friends you choose, and it lands on their bench as a note or a polaroid. No feed, no likes, no strangers: just the people you've added.

An account also keeps your settings, characters and special days in step across your PCs.

Light on your PC

A wallpaper shouldn't cost you a fan. AniMates draws only the frames its motion needs, a few a second on a calm evening, and stops when nobody can see it.

  • Pauses when you can't see itBehind a window or a full-screen game, on battery if you like, and while the PC is locked.
  • Eco modeCaps the scene at 15 frames a second for older PCs and laptops.
  • Screensaver and lock screenThe bench after a few idle minutes, and on your lock screen too.

Bring them to your desktop tonight

Everything is open for 14 days. After that, keep a free bench, or get AniMates Plus for the whole world.

Coming in November See pricing