Google made a big deal about the concept of digital wellbeing at Google I/O this year. Basically, the company wants to help you be less distracted by technology. Now we’re seeing the first signs of this initiative making its mark: YouTube now has reminders to stop watching videos.
Yep, that’s right: YouTube can now help you stop watching YouTube. Granted, the feature isn’t turned on by default, but it’s still a nice gesture. You can access it by tapping on your profile icon, then Settings > General > Remind me to take a break. You can choose reminders ranging from every 15 minutes to every 3 hours.
The company is also rolling out a ‘scheduled digest’ which basically combines your YouTube notifications into one big announcement at a time of your choosing instead of the usual barrage of notifications. And yet another useful change is the ability to disable notification sounds during certain periods of the day. Like, you know, bedtime.
The features don’t seem to be available on every device quite yet – I’m not seeing it on my Pixel 2 running the Android P Beta – but that’s only a matter of time. They’re small changes, but ones that could make a big difference in reducing distractions throughout your day. For more about Google’s Digital Wellbeing movement, check out Google’s site on the matter here.
The 💜 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
Via TechCrunch
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.