diff --git a/src/meson.build b/src/meson.build
index f7af74aff..d05204e2f 100644
--- a/src/meson.build
+++ b/src/meson.build
@@ -627,6 +627,8 @@ if have_wayland
     'wayland/meta-wayland-gtk-shell.c',
     'wayland/meta-wayland-gtk-shell.h',
     'wayland/meta-wayland.h',
+    'wayland/meta-wayland-idle-inhibit.c',
+    'wayland/meta-wayland-idle-inhibit.h',
     'wayland/meta-wayland-inhibit-shortcuts.c',
     'wayland/meta-wayland-inhibit-shortcuts-dialog.c',
     'wayland/meta-wayland-inhibit-shortcuts-dialog.h',
@@ -1058,6 +1060,7 @@ if have_wayland
   wayland_protocols = [
     ['fractional-scale', 'staging', 'v1', ],
     ['gtk-shell', 'private', ],
+    ['idle-inhibit', 'unstable', 'v1', ],
     ['keyboard-shortcuts-inhibit', 'unstable', 'v1', ],
     ['linux-dmabuf', 'unstable', 'v1', ],
     ['pointer-constraints', 'unstable', 'v1', ],
diff --git a/src/wayland/meta-wayland-idle-inhibit.c b/src/wayland/meta-wayland-idle-inhibit.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ac9a13e1d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/wayland/meta-wayland-idle-inhibit.c
@@ -0,0 +1,292 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2021 SUSE Software Solutions Germany GmbH
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with this library. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ *
+ */
+
+#include "config.h"
+
+#include "wayland/meta-wayland-idle-inhibit.h"
+
+#include <wayland-server.h>
+
+#include "backends/meta-backend-private.h"
+#include "backends/meta-logical-monitor.h"
+#include "backends/meta-settings-private.h"
+#include "wayland/meta-wayland-private.h"
+#include "wayland/meta-wayland-versions.h"
+
+#include "idle-inhibit-unstable-v1-server-protocol.h"
+
+struct _MetaWaylandIdleInhibitor
+{
+  MetaWaylandSurface *surface;
+  GDBusProxy *session_proxy;
+  uint32_t cookie;
+  gulong is_obscured_changed_handler;
+  gboolean idle_inhibited;
+  struct wl_listener surface_destroy_listener;
+  GCancellable *cancellable;
+};
+
+typedef struct _MetaWaylandIdleInhibitor MetaWaylandIdleInhibitor;
+
+static void
+inhibit_completed (GObject      *source,
+                   GAsyncResult *res,
+                   gpointer      user_data)
+{
+  MetaWaylandIdleInhibitor *inhibitor = user_data;
+  g_autoptr (GVariant) ret = NULL;
+  g_autoptr (GError) error = NULL;
+
+  ret = g_dbus_proxy_call_finish (G_DBUS_PROXY (source), res, &error);
+  if (!ret)
+    {
+      if (!g_error_matches (error, G_IO_ERROR, G_IO_ERROR_CANCELLED))
+        g_warning ("Failed to inhibit: %s", error->message);
+      return;
+    }
+
+  g_variant_get (ret, "(u)", &inhibitor->cookie);
+  inhibitor->idle_inhibited = TRUE;
+}
+
+
+static void
+uninhibit_completed (GObject      *source,
+                     GAsyncResult *res,
+                     gpointer      user_data)
+{
+  MetaWaylandIdleInhibitor *inhibitor = user_data;
+  g_autoptr (GVariant) ret = NULL;
+  g_autoptr (GError) error = NULL;
+
+  ret = g_dbus_proxy_call_finish (G_DBUS_PROXY (source), res, &error);
+  if (!ret)
+    {
+      if (!g_error_matches (error, G_IO_ERROR, G_IO_ERROR_CANCELLED))
+        g_warning ("Failed to uninhibit: %s", error->message);
+      return;
+    }
+  if (inhibitor)
+    inhibitor->idle_inhibited = FALSE;
+}
+
+static void
+update_inhibitation (MetaWaylandIdleInhibitor *inhibitor)
+{
+  MetaSurfaceActor *actor;
+
+  if (!inhibitor->session_proxy)
+    return;
+
+  if (inhibitor->surface)
+    return;
+
+  actor = meta_wayland_surface_get_actor (inhibitor->surface);
+
+  if (!meta_surface_actor_is_effectively_obscured (actor))
+    {
+      if (!inhibitor->idle_inhibited)
+        {
+          g_dbus_proxy_call (G_DBUS_PROXY (inhibitor->session_proxy),
+                             "Inhibit",
+                             g_variant_new ("(ss)", "mutter", "idle-inhibit"),
+                             G_DBUS_CALL_FLAGS_NONE,
+                             -1,
+                             inhibitor->cancellable,
+                             inhibit_completed,
+                             inhibitor);
+        }
+    }
+  else if (inhibitor->idle_inhibited)
+    {
+      g_dbus_proxy_call (G_DBUS_PROXY (inhibitor->session_proxy),
+                         "UnInhibit",
+                         g_variant_new ("(u)", inhibitor->cookie),
+                         G_DBUS_CALL_FLAGS_NONE,
+                         -1,
+                         inhibitor->cancellable,
+                         uninhibit_completed,
+                         inhibitor);
+    }
+}
+
+static void
+is_obscured_changed (MetaSurfaceActor         *actor,
+                     GParamSpec               *pspec,
+                     MetaWaylandIdleInhibitor *inhibitor)
+{
+  update_inhibitation (inhibitor);
+}
+
+static void
+inhibitor_proxy_completed (GObject      *source,
+                           GAsyncResult *res,
+                           gpointer      user_data)
+{
+  MetaWaylandIdleInhibitor *inhibitor = user_data;
+  GDBusProxy *proxy;
+  g_autoptr (GError) error = NULL;
+
+  proxy = g_dbus_proxy_new_finish (res, &error);
+  if (!proxy)
+    {
+      if (!g_error_matches (error, G_IO_ERROR, G_IO_ERROR_CANCELLED))
+        {
+          g_warning ("Failed to obtain org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver proxy: %s",
+                     error->message);
+        }
+      return;
+    }
+
+  inhibitor->session_proxy = proxy;
+
+  /* as the surface has already been created, we check its visibility state in
+   * the inhibitor initialization.
+   */
+  update_inhibitation (inhibitor);
+}
+
+static void
+idle_inhibit_destroy (struct wl_client   *client,
+                      struct wl_resource *resource)
+{
+  wl_resource_destroy (resource);
+}
+
+static void
+idle_inhibitor_destructor (struct wl_resource *resource)
+{
+  MetaWaylandIdleInhibitor *inhibitor = wl_resource_get_user_data (resource);
+
+  if (inhibitor->surface)
+    g_clear_signal_handler (&inhibitor->is_obscured_changed_handler,
+                            meta_wayland_surface_get_actor (inhibitor->surface));
+
+  /* Cancel any already pending calls */
+  g_cancellable_cancel (inhibitor->cancellable);
+  /* Uninhibit when the inhibitor is destroyed */
+  if (inhibitor->session_proxy && inhibitor->idle_inhibited)
+    {
+      g_dbus_proxy_call (G_DBUS_PROXY (inhibitor->session_proxy),
+                         "UnInhibit",
+                         g_variant_new ("(u)", inhibitor->cookie),
+                         G_DBUS_CALL_FLAGS_NONE,
+                         -1,
+                         NULL,
+                         uninhibit_completed,
+                         NULL);
+    }
+  if (inhibitor->surface)
+    wl_list_remove (&inhibitor->surface_destroy_listener.link);
+  g_free (inhibitor);
+}
+
+static void
+inhibitor_surface_destroyed (struct wl_listener *listener,
+                             void               *data)
+{
+  MetaWaylandIdleInhibitor *inhibitor = wl_container_of (listener,
+                                                         inhibitor,
+                                                         surface_destroy_listener);
+  inhibitor->surface = NULL;
+}
+
+static const struct zwp_idle_inhibitor_v1_interface meta_wayland_idle_inhibitor_interface =
+{
+  idle_inhibit_destroy,
+};
+
+static void
+idle_inhibit_manager_create_inhibitor (struct wl_client   *client,
+                                       struct wl_resource *resource,
+                                       uint32_t            id,
+                                       struct wl_resource *surface_resource)
+{
+  MetaWaylandSurface *surface = wl_resource_get_user_data (surface_resource);
+  MetaWaylandIdleInhibitor *inhibitor;
+  struct wl_resource *inhibitor_resource;
+
+  inhibitor_resource = wl_resource_create (client,
+                                           &zwp_idle_inhibitor_v1_interface,
+                                           wl_resource_get_version (resource),
+                                           id);
+
+  inhibitor = g_new0 (MetaWaylandIdleInhibitor, 1);
+  inhibitor->surface = surface;
+
+  inhibitor->is_obscured_changed_handler =
+    g_signal_connect (meta_wayland_surface_get_actor (surface),
+                      "notify::is-obscured",
+                      G_CALLBACK (is_obscured_changed),
+                      inhibitor);
+
+  g_dbus_proxy_new_for_bus (G_BUS_TYPE_SESSION,
+                            G_DBUS_PROXY_FLAGS_NONE,
+                            NULL,
+                            "org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver",
+                            "/org/freedesktop/ScreenSaver",
+                            "org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver",
+                            inhibitor->cancellable,
+                            inhibitor_proxy_completed,
+                            inhibitor);
+
+  wl_resource_set_implementation (inhibitor_resource,
+                                  &meta_wayland_idle_inhibitor_interface,
+                                  inhibitor,
+                                  idle_inhibitor_destructor);
+
+  inhibitor->surface_destroy_listener.notify = inhibitor_surface_destroyed;
+  wl_resource_add_destroy_listener (surface->resource,
+                                    &inhibitor->surface_destroy_listener);
+}
+
+
+static const struct zwp_idle_inhibit_manager_v1_interface meta_wayland_idle_inhibit_manager_interface =
+{
+  idle_inhibit_destroy,
+  idle_inhibit_manager_create_inhibitor,
+};
+
+static void
+bind_idle_inhibit (struct wl_client *client,
+                   void             *data,
+                   uint32_t          version,
+                   uint32_t          id)
+{
+  struct wl_resource *resource;
+
+  resource = wl_resource_create (client,
+                                 &zwp_idle_inhibit_manager_v1_interface,
+                                 version, id);
+
+  wl_resource_set_implementation (resource,
+                                  &meta_wayland_idle_inhibit_manager_interface,
+                                  NULL, NULL);
+}
+
+gboolean
+meta_wayland_idle_inhibit_init (MetaWaylandCompositor *compositor)
+{
+  if (wl_global_create (compositor->wayland_display,
+                        &zwp_idle_inhibit_manager_v1_interface,
+                        META_ZWP_IDLE_INHIBIT_V1_VERSION,
+                        NULL,
+                        bind_idle_inhibit) == NULL)
+    return FALSE;
+  return TRUE;
+}
diff --git a/src/wayland/meta-wayland-idle-inhibit.h b/src/wayland/meta-wayland-idle-inhibit.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..21773c9fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/wayland/meta-wayland-idle-inhibit.h
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2021 SUSE Software Solutions Germany GmbH
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with this library. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ *
+ */
+
+#pragma once
+
+#include <glib.h>
+
+#include "wayland/meta-wayland-types.h"
+
+gboolean meta_wayland_idle_inhibit_init (MetaWaylandCompositor *compositor);
diff --git a/src/wayland/meta-wayland-versions.h b/src/wayland/meta-wayland-versions.h
index e819f2843..97d0a171d 100644
--- a/src/wayland/meta-wayland-versions.h
+++ b/src/wayland/meta-wayland-versions.h
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@
 #define META_ZWP_PRIMARY_SELECTION_V1_VERSION 1
 #define META_WP_PRESENTATION_VERSION        1
 #define META_XDG_ACTIVATION_V1_VERSION 1
+#define META_ZWP_IDLE_INHIBIT_V1_VERSION    1
 #define META_WP_SINGLE_PIXEL_BUFFER_V1_VERSION 1
 #define META_MUTTER_X11_INTEROP_VERSION 1
 #define META_WP_FRACTIONAL_SCALE_VERSION 1
diff --git a/src/wayland/meta-wayland.c b/src/wayland/meta-wayland.c
index f485bdb3a..404b1b435 100644
--- a/src/wayland/meta-wayland.c
+++ b/src/wayland/meta-wayland.c
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@
 #include "wayland/meta-wayland-dma-buf.h"
 #include "wayland/meta-wayland-egl-stream.h"
 #include "wayland/meta-wayland-filter-manager.h"
+#include "wayland/meta-wayland-idle-inhibit.h"
 #include "wayland/meta-wayland-inhibit-shortcuts-dialog.h"
 #include "wayland/meta-wayland-inhibit-shortcuts.h"
 #include "wayland/meta-wayland-legacy-xdg-foreign.h"
@@ -805,6 +806,7 @@ meta_wayland_compositor_new (MetaContext *context)
   meta_wayland_init_presentation_time (compositor);
   meta_wayland_activation_init (compositor);
   meta_wayland_transaction_init (compositor);
+  meta_wayland_idle_inhibit_init (compositor);
 
 #ifdef HAVE_WAYLAND_EGLSTREAM
   {