Instagram Tests ‘Take A Break’ Feature To Help Cut Back Screen Time
Image via Jimmy Tudeschi / Shutterstock.com
While social media does have its positives, there are also countless negatives in spending too much time caught up in the newsfeed. Sometimes we forget and lose track of time, but sometimes we just would rather keep scrolling even with the knowledge that maybe we should be getting on with something else instead.
Instagram’s newest feature, ‘Take a Break,’ aims to make this self-moderation a little bit easier. Announced in a short video on Twitter, head of Instagram Adam Mosseri explains that this nifty new tool will be able to remind users to take a break after spending a set amount of time browsing through content on the app.
This can be anywhere between 10 to 30 minutes, and can be customized according to what the user sees fit. After that set amount of time has passed, the app will reminder users to either take a break or set their phone down altogether.
Testing “Take a Break” 🧑🔬
— Adam Mosseri 😷 (@mosseri) November 10, 2021
We started testing a new feature called “Take a Break” this week. This opt-in control enables you to receive break reminders in-app after a duration of your choosing.
I’m excited to dig into the results & hopefully launch this sometime in December. ✌🏼 pic.twitter.com/WdSTjL6ZdH
It’s sort of similar to Digital Wellbeing on Android or Screen Time on iOS, both features aiming to make users aware of how much time they’re spending on their phones and which apps are most heavily used.
We’ve all been there: opening Instagram, or any other social media app for that matter, and looking at a couple of photos or videos… and then two hours passes and we have no idea where they went. If you choose to opt in, these reminders is definitely a good way to start kicking that lockdown-enhanced social media addiction.
Take a Break is currently in testing, and users who are part of the beta group will be seeing a prompt to choose their time allotment sometime soon. Mosseri states that the feature is aimed to be launched more widely “sometime in December.”
[via Android Police, cover image via Jimmy Tudeschi / Shutterstock.com]
Also check out these recent news
