Our use of smartphones has become much more particularly after the pandemic. We all know that the more we use our phones, the less active we become in our real life, which is also not good for our health. So today I am going to share with you some ways to limit your screen time on Android as well as iPhone.

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Limit screen time on Android and iPhone

These methods include some built-in features and some third-party applications. Read on to explore!

1. Timer app on digital well-being

Google has announced a new digital wellness tool with Android 9 Pie that helps users reduce their dependence on smartphones. The app offers a dashboard that shows the total time spent on different apps when opening them and checking notifications etc.

You can limit this duration by setting an “App Timer”. Follow the steps mentioned below:

First, make sure your phone has a digital wellness app. If it still doesn’t have it, you can download it from the Play Store.

1. Go to Settings on your phone, then select Digital well-being and parental controls or open the app directly from the app drawer.

2. Now, under “Ways to disconnect” you will see Dashboard and press it.

3. Here you will see the apps in the order you use the most.

4. Now tap on the app you want to set a time limit for.

5. There, under Settings, you will see “App Timer”, tap it.

6. Now set the time of the app, by entering the time and press Okay.

That’s it. Now when you finish using the app for the set time, it will stop working and you can use it again the next day only. However, you can turn off the timer by entering the app settings.

Another useful addition to the Digital Wellbeing app came with Android 10 as a new focus mode. This mode allows you to select apps on your phone that you use most of the time and you can block those apps for a while so you can focus on something productive. You can activate focus mode by following the steps mentioned above from within the app.

2. StayFree – Track screen time and limited app usage

StayFree is a third-party app that does the same thing as Digital Wellbeing’s Focus Mode.

1. Download, install and open the app on your phone.

2. Authorize access to use from the on-screen instructions.

3. After that, go back and you will be taken to the app home screen where you can see the usage time of different apps on your phone.

4. In the lower toolbar, navigate to the last option which has a lock icon with a timer. Here you can set your usage limit for any application.

5. Press the large ‘+’ then on the pop-up window, select the app, warning type and usage time limit, and you can add warning text as well.

6. In “Warning type”, you can choose from options like notification warning, pop-up warning, or block further use of the app. We recommend that you use the latter.

7. Press Okay, and if you are using Android 10, it will also ask you to “Allow display on other applications” to continuously monitor usage. Press OK and authorize it by activating the toggle.

That’s it. You can also follow the same steps for other applications. Once you have finished using the app for the set amount of time, it will be blocked because you have selected the same option.

This app has additional features like overall usage and status where you can see where you stand in terms of app usage versus overall usage. Another good thing about this free app is that it doesn’t show any ads.

3. Limit screen time on iPhone

If you are an iPhone user and want to limit the time you spend on your phone, Apple offers a built-in feature by the same name as “Screen Time”. This allows two different ways: either limit app usage time or set a daily period to block all apps except essential apps.

Here’s how to limit your time on iPhone:

1. Launch the Settings app from your Home screen.

2. In Settings, find the “Screen time” function and press to select it.

3. Here find the “Application limits” option and tap it, then tap “Add a limit” at the bottom of the menu.

4. Here you can select the apps you want to limit your time on. Select a category such as “Social networks” or set limits on all apps by choosing “All apps and categories”.

5.press “Following” in the upper right corner of the screen and set the time when the apps should be used. Finally, press “Add” at the top of your screen.

That’s it. When you set an app usage limit, you will be banned from that app after the set time. As mentioned above, you can also activate a “Downtime” function, just like Android’s “Focus Mode” to take a break from your phone for a while.

These are the ways to limit your screen time on Android as well as iPhone. So be sure to follow a healthy routine when using all of your devices. For more advice like this, stay tuned!

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