How to put limits on Android applications and avoid spending hours scrolling

We must be honest with ourselves and be clear that we spend too much time looking at the screen of our smartphone, something that the vast majority of users should accept.

And it is normal, since the progress of these devices is absolutely stunningsince right now it can be used to perform so many tasks that we obsess over looking at it over and over again, even at times when we really don’t know why.

Going on TikTok, seeing a cooking recipe, which I love, but which I know perfectly well I’m not going to do, going on YouTube and watching a video of how to organize a closet efficiently, something I won’t do either, etc. and meanwhile we can’t stop looking at the smartphone.

This means that the time we have “lost” in front of the smartphone could be used to watch a movie, go out for a drink or just go for a walk.

So that we can perform other tasks and at the same time continue using our smartphone, we can limit the screen time of the applications, to make it a way of letting us know that the phone is enough for now.

The good thing is that Android has a built-in configuration that allows us to set a time limit for any application that we have downloaded.

Index of contents:

Digital wellbeing and parental controls

The first way that we have to limit the time of the applications will be, possibly, the easiest to carry out.

The steps we must follow are these:

• As is normal, what we are going to do is go to settings and after that we will scroll down to the Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls tab.
• Now we will see a graph that shows its daily average, which tells us will indicate an amount which many of us wouldn’t expect, as it may not look tremendous. But really that’s what we’re fighting against.
• Now what we have to do is click on control Panel.
• At the moment that we are inside this panel, we will see how at the bottom it says Show all (a number) apps.
• If we deploy we will see all the applications that we have used and how long it has been.
• It is time to go choosing those that we want to limit by clicking on the hourglass button which is seen on the left side of each.
• Now a timer is launched where we can set the time to which we want to limit said app.
• It only remains to click on Accept and ready.

third party applications

If the Google application does not quite convince you, in the Google Play Store you have several apps that will help you control the screen time of your Android.

Some are more visual than Google’s native and others allow you to be a little more radical.

• Social Fever: It is a very visual app and it works very well with which we can limit screen time. The interface is extremely intuitive and will allow us, with a simple glance, to know how long we have been using the phone in total and in particular in each apps. Obviously timers can be configured to notify us of excessive time.

• Freedom: we can create block lists and schedule times not to use a certain application. The interface is simple, they could possibly do more in terms of design, but at least it’s very intuitive. It is very complete, since it is valid not only for Android, but also for iOS, Windows, Mac, Chromebook and even Linux.

• off the grid: This is an application that we can consider as more radical. It is for those who find it impossible to leave their mobile with just a warning. This app completely blocks our phone for a period of time that we have previously determined. You can configure messages so that others know why we do not answer or configure so that certain facets of the telephone do work.

Willpower

Once we have set the timer, it is when we should be the ones who have the enough willpower so as not to pick up the phone again during the stipulated time.

Obviously, both the native app and the ones that we have shown you can be deactivated under an emergency, but you should not take advantage of this fact to connect it and continue to see the phone if the time has not passed.

It is very important to have the one hundred percent willpower and very attentive, since, if it is not so, we can succumb at any moment. The best thing is that during the time that we have marked to be without a smartphone, we do something else that we may want, such as cooking, taking a walk or something else that occurs to us.

Now you have the information to put limits on Android applications and it’s only up to you to take advantage of it.