Google Pixel and other Android phones add ‘Screen time reminders’ to help you stop doomscrolling

Ben Schoon | Nov 18 2024 - 8:15 am PT

Google has quietly rolled out a new feature as part of its Digital Wellbeing suite on Pixel and other Android phones, with “Screen time reminders.”

Rolling out over the past few days and seemingly widely available now, Google has added “Screen time reminders” to a lot of Android phones including its own Pixel devices. This feature, found alongside other Digital Wellbeing tools, shows an on-screen reminder when you have spent a considerable amount of time in an app. The goal, it seems, is to help users avoid getting overly distracted in one app.

This reminder appears even if you don’t have app time limits turned on.

Off by default, the feature shows a small pop-up at the top of the screen when a certain period of time has passed. We noticed the timer going off after 25 minutes in Instagram, while Mishaal Rahman on Twitter/X had spotted it after 15 minutes in another app.

Google calls these reminders “occasional,” and there are no controls over how often they can show.

The only controls available are per-app, as you can turn off these reminders for apps that you select. This could be helpful for apps where you might be playing videos, or games. Once you enable Screen time reminders on your Android device, it’s automatically enabled for all apps. Tapping the pop-up shows an option to disable reminders for that app in particular.

Google’s Digital Wellbeing tools are available on Pixel smartphones, but also a host of other Android devices including OnePlus, Oppo, Nothing, and more. Samsung, however, has its own suite of Digital Wellbeing tools which vary in features, and there’s no “reminders” option yet for Galaxy devices.