How to turn on YouTube's reminders to stop watching videos
Of all the apps on my phone, one of my most used ones is easily YouTube. Whether I'm catching up on Good Mythical Morning with my cereal before work or taking a break to see what's going on with 368, I often find myself glued to my phone going through everything new in my subscription feed.
I try to be as conscious as possible of my smartphone usage, and while I like to think I've got a good "digital wellbeing" as Google puts it, a helping hand here and there is always appreciated.
YouTube has a new feature in its Android app that gives you subtle reminders to take a break from watching videos if you're wasting the day away on the app, and this is how you can turn it on.
- Open YouTube
- Tap your profile icon at the top right
- From the Account page, tap Settings
- Tap General at the very top of the list
- Tap on Remind me to take a break
From here, you can choose to get a reminder every 15, 30, 60, 90, or 180 minutes you're watching videos consecutively. Once you've reached the limit you set, you'll see a pop-up suggesting you take a break. On the pop-up, you'll have options for dismissing it or diving into your settings to adjust the frequency the reminders come up.
What's new in YouTube at Google I/O 2018
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Joe Maring was a Senior Editor for Android Central between 2017 and 2021. You can reach him on Twitter at @JoeMaring1.