Google has rolled out a handy new Digital Wellbeing feature that’ll gently let Android users know when they’ve been scrolling an app for a certain period of time.
So, if you find yourself doomscrolling on social media apps for a significant period of time, you may see a small, pill-like notification at the top of the screen telling you how long you’ve been using the app.
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The new feature, first reported by Mishaal Rahman, can be manually enabled in the Digital Wellbeing settings and enables users to specify apps that are exempt from the feature.
The feature will enable users to “stay in control of your digital habits with screen time reminders.” It refers to them as “occasional reminders that show how mich time you’re spending on the app.”
Examples spied by the reporter and in 9to5Google’s follow up report, show the notification after 15 or 25 minutes of solid use within a single app.
Google introduced the Digital Wellbeing tools five years ago and each are designed to encourage you to spend a little less time on your device. The have been various features and experiments down the years, including an Unlock Clock that tells you how many times you unlock your phone each day, a PostBox that promises to keep all of your notifications stowed until the next day, and Desert Island that’ll give let you pick a few apps you can’t get through the day without.
Gentle reminder to take a break
The Screen Reminders feature could be handy in those instances when one tweet rolls into another, with endless flicks of the thumbs, or in apps like YouTube where the next video continues playing and you get lost down the rabbit hole.
The gentle reminders might be the ticket here, rather than similar tools within YouTube that just cut you off when you hit the set limit, and it ends up being an annoying barrier you end up turning off.
