Summary
- Android screen time reminders are pop-ups that notify you of how long you’ve spent on an app.
- Enable them in Digital Wellbeing settings on Android to become more aware of usage habits.
- They serve as gentle nudges to take a break from excessive screen time without being overly restrictive.
Screen time is perhaps our generation’s worst problem. We spend a significant part of our days with our eyes glued to different screens—for some people it’s their phone, and for others, it can be a mix of a phone and a computer.
The best way to learn a lesson and correct an unhealthy habit is to be made aware of the consequences of your actions. So let me introduce you to the best wellbeing feature on Android you didn’t know existed—screen time reminders.
What Are Android Screen Time Reminders?
Screen time reminders are exactly what they sound like. They’re little pop-ups that will appear sporadically while you’re using apps, letting you know how much time you’ve spent using them. When turned on, this feature displays unobtrusive on-screen pop-ups when a user has spent a considerable amount of time within a single app. These “occasional” reminders appear roughly every 15-30 minutes, depending on the app, and they can pile up—if you’ve spent two hours doomscrolling on TikTok or Instagram, the app will make you aware of it.
You can pair it with other wellbeing features to actually limit the usage of those apps, but by itself, it will just warn you how much time you’ve spent actually using the app, but not really do anything else to keep you away from it. It might work best if you pair it with actual app limits, though. For instance, a reminder can alert you how much of your daily allocated time for an app, like TikTok, has already been consumed. You have the option to tap the pop-up to disable reminders for specific applications you don’t want to be “nagged” about.
This feature was launched back in November 2024, and it’s a passive way to make you more aware of your usage patterns without being overly restrictive.
How Do You Enable Them?
For what it’s worth, it’s not a regular Android feature that you’ll find as a setting. Instead, it’s part of Google’s Digital Wellbeing set of features. It can be found together with features such as app timers to help limit usage of specific applications, or bedtime mode, which can automatically enable Do Not Disturb mode to silence calls and notifications, and change the screen to grayscale, making it less engaging and easier on the eyes before sleep. This is a set of features that promotes healthier use of your smartphone and helps you take action so you can touch grass sometimes.
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You can find this feature by going into your Settings app, tapping the Digital Wellbeing settings, and turning on the “Screen time reminders” option. From there, it’s as easy as flipping it on. From that panel, you can flip on the reminders or choose apps where you don’t want these reminders to pop up—think of things like banking apps or essential apps where you’re not really doomscrolling or keeping your eyes glued on your screen.
How Useful Are They?
Personally, even if you don’t have app timers or any other actual restrictions on apps, these reminders can help bring to your attention just how bad your unhealthy habits are affecting you. I’ve been using them for a few months, and they serve as gentle nudges that maybe I should stop scrolling through TikTok in the middle of the night, but without actually kicking me out from TikTok.
They can get annoying, and they are probably meant to be annoying. They will pop up every 15 minutes, even when it starts counting out hours, and counts the total time you’ve spent in the app in a short span even if you stop using it for a bit and go back in.
For the most part, they have helped make me aware of how much time I’m really spending on social media. Not too long ago, I had a screen time reminder telling me that I’ve been doomscrolling TikTok for a solid two hours—after seeing the pop-up, I immediately closed the app and went for a walk at the park. Some people might need to pair this feature with actual app timers in order to make an actually effective tool to force themselves to spend less time on their phones. But as a regular passive-aggressive reminder that you need to touch grass, this is pretty good.
If you want to check it out by yourself, make sure your phone has the Digital Wellbeing section in Settings, and check to see whether screen time reminders are present on your phone. If they are, maybe give it a spin. There’s nothing better than a reminder telling you that you’re wasting your time.