Facebook and subsidiary Instagram are going to make their apps less addictive. From now on you can see exactly how intensively you use the apps and set an Instagram time limit to restrict your use. Facebook is also working on a similar function.
Instagram time limit now available, Facebook time limit on the way
Facebook says it has conducted a study showing that communicating with friends doesn’t negatively impact our health, but passive and endless scrolling through our Instagram and Facebook timelines does.
Hence, a new tab is added to the settings of the two apps. Here you can see exactly how much time you spent that day in one of the two apps, with a graph of the past week showing the total numbers below. The tab is available to all Instagram users from today. You can open it as follows:
This way you can see how long you use Instagram
- Open the Instagram app;
- Tap your profile picture in the bottom right corner of the screen;
- On your profile, tap the three bars in the top right corner of your screen;
- Tap ‘Your Activity’.
In the next window, you will see a graph showing the number of minutes you spend in Instagram each day. By tapping on a bar you will see the number for that specific day.
After viewing this data, you can also take immediate action. For example, the option to set a daily limit for Instagram has been added. If the limit is reached, you will receive a notification, although the app will not be locked afterwards. It is therefore up to you to close the app for that day.
You can also set a period in which you will not receive notifications from the apps. For example if you are at work or you really need to concentrate on your studies.
Facebook also gets a time limit function
In addition to Instagram, Facebook will also get a similar function that allows you to see how often you use the social network per day and gives you the option to set a time limit. While the feature for Instagram is already available now, Facebook hasn’t rolled it out yet. It is unclear when this is the case.
You open the overview on Facebook as follows:
- Open the Facebook app;
- Go to Settings;
- Tap ‘Your time on Facebook’.
Apple also wants to limit iPhone use
Facebook and Instagram aren’t the only companies seriously dealing with excessive smartphone use this year. Google and Apple also presented important measures in Android and iOS this year to combat this problem. For example, from iOS 12 you can set app limits and you will receive a weekly report with your iPhone usage via the Screen Time function.
In the video below, we explain how iOS 12 will make you less addicted to your iPhone. Subscribe too on our YouTube channel for more Apple videos, tips and reviews.