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    3 min read 5 stepsJuly 19, 2026Verified July 2026

    How to Use Android's Digital Wellbeing Tools to Manage Screen Time

    Set up Android's free Digital Wellbeing feature to see how much time you spend on your phone and set healthy daily limits for specific apps.

    At a Glance

    Category
    Phone & Tablet
    Difficulty
    Beginner
    Read Time
    3 min read
    Steps
    5
    Topics covered
    android
    screen time
    digital wellbeing
    phone habits

    In this guide (5 steps):

    1. 1.Open Digital Wellbeing
    2. 2.View your daily and weekly screen time
    3. 3.Set a daily timer for a specific app
    4. 4.Turn on Bedtime mode
    5. 5.Use 'Focus mode' when you need fewer distractions
    1

    Open Digital Wellbeing

    ~15s
    Open Settings on your Android phone and look for 'Digital Wellbeing & parental controls.' On Samsung phones, this may be listed as 'Digital Wellbeing.'
    2

    View your daily and weekly screen time

    ~17s
    Tap the dashboard chart at the top of the Digital Wellbeing screen to see a breakdown of how much time you've spent in each app today and over the past week.

    Quick Tip

    Checking this once a week, rather than daily, is usually enough to spot any habits worth adjusting.

    3

    Set a daily timer for a specific app

    ~15s
    From the dashboard, tap the hourglass icon next to any app and set a daily time limit. Once you hit the limit, that app's icon grays out for the rest of the day until midnight resets it.
    4

    Turn on Bedtime mode

    ~15s
    In Digital Wellbeing, tap 'Bedtime mode' and set a schedule. During bedtime hours, the screen switches to black and white and notifications are silenced, making the phone less tempting to check.
    5

    Use 'Focus mode' when you need fewer distractions

    ~15s
    Tap 'Focus mode' and select apps to pause temporarily, like social media or games. While Focus mode is on, those apps' icons are grayed out and won't send notifications until you turn it off.

    You Did It!

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    Digital Wellbeing is a free tool built into most Android phones that shows exactly how much time you spend on your phone each day, broken down by app. It's a helpful way to notice habits you might not realize you have, like checking social media far more often than intended. And it includes simple tools to set daily limits if you'd like to cut back.

    Unlike third-party screen-time apps, Digital Wellbeing comes preinstalled on Android phones from Google, Samsung, and most other manufacturers, so there's nothing to download or pay for. It works entirely on your own phone and doesn't share your usage information with anyone else.

    This feature can be especially useful for setting a 'Bedtime mode' that dims the screen and silences notifications at night, or for noticing if a particular app is taking up more time than expected. Everything in Digital Wellbeing is optional and adjustable. You can turn limits off just as easily as you turned them on. Source: support.google.com/android/answer/9346420.

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    android
    screen time
    digital wellbeing
    phone habits

    Official Resources

    Apple Support — iPhoneGoogle Help — AndroidSamsung Support

    Sources used to create and verify this guide. View all sources →

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