Facebook and Instagram want you to log off


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Facebook and Instagram want to take up less of your time. Yes, really.
As counterintuitive as it may sound, the two platforms will soon debut a feature that clocks how long users spend on their apps, Recode reports. It's all part of Mark Zuckerberg's 2018 push to make sure time spent on Facebook and Instagram is "time well spent."
Users got a first look at the "time well spent" features when screenshots were leaked in June, per The Verge. "Your Activity" on Instagram and "Your Time on Facebook" display a graph of users' average time spent on the apps. Users can then set an alarm for when they've reached their daily average. To get even more disconnected, users can also mute Instagram and Facebook notifications for minutes or hours.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The two platforms profit off the time users spend scrolling, making the new features pretty ironic. But Ameet Ranadive, Instagram's product director of well-being, said at a press event that this is a trade Facebook is willing to make. It's in line with Zuckerberg's "responsibility" mantra, which led to a revamped algorithm prioritizing friends' content over pages'. These newest developments will similarly give users "power and control over how and when they want to engage," Ranadive said, per BuzzFeed News.
With Facebook's credibility — and stocks — falling, the company needs all the people-first features it can get. Read more at Recode.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Laurence Fox suspended by GB News after 'unacceptable' Ava Evans comments
Broadcaster issues apology after actor goes on a tirade during a live interview with Dan Wootton
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
The daily business briefing: September 27, 2023
Business Briefing The FTC accuses Amazon of running an illegal online monopoly, Biden visits auto workers on picket line, and more
By Harold Maass Published
-
Seaham Hall review: serenity on the coast in County Durham
The Week Recommends Former haunt of Lord Byron is pure poetry when it comes to spa options in the north-east
By Jamie Timson, The Week UK Published
-
Elon Musk used Starlink, which saved Ukraine, to thwart a Ukrainian attack on Russia's Crimea fleet
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Fitch downgrades US credit rating, citing 'repeated debt-limit political standoffs'
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Bed Bath & Beyond relaunches online following bankruptcy
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
San Francisco's iconic Anchor Brewing is closing after 127 years
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Lawmakers say tax prep companies illegally shared taxpayer data with Meta and Google
Speed Read
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Microsoft wins FTC battle to acquire Activision Blizzard
Speed Read
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Tesla reports record quarter for sales
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
48 states sue telecom company over billions of robocalls
Speed Read
By Theara Coleman Published