Instagram is testing a new feature that gives users reminders when they’ve spent too long on the app.
The feature, called Take a Break, lets users opt-in to receive prompts to stop using the photo-sharing app – every 10, 20 or 30 minutes.
Take a Break is rolling out as part of a test for a small sample of Instagram users, but all accounts could get it ‘in a month or two’.
If it does get a full rollout following user feedback, Take a Break could help cut ‘Instagram addiction’, which has been linked to harmful effects on mental health.
Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri outlined Take a Break in a video posted to his Twitter account.
‘What we’re starting to test this week on Instagram is one that I’m actually personally very excited about,’ he says in the video.
‘It’s called Take a Break and it does what you think it does. If you opt-in it encourages you to take a break from Instagram after you spend a certain amount of time on the app – 10, 20, 30 minutes.
‘You’re going to see this, if you’re in the test, over the coming days. If you don’t see it, you will hopefully get it in a month or two, once we get to a place where we’re comfortable enough launching it to everybody on Instagram. So keep an eye out.’
Take a Break comes in the form of a prompt displayed in users’ feeds, rather than a pop-up that takes over the entire screen.
The prompt says: ‘Want a break? Regular breaks can help you reset. You can now turn on reminders to take breaks when it makes sense for you.’
Users then have the chance to tap ‘Turn on’ or ‘Not now’. If they select ‘Turn on’, they can choose to get reminders to take a break for either 10, 20 or 30 minutes.
Instagram then offers users helpful suggestions of what they can do instead of scrolling Instagram.
Take a Break comes in the form of a prompt displayed in users’ feeds (pictured), rather than a pop-up that takes over the entire screen
These suggestions include ‘take a few deep breaths’, ‘listen to your favourite song’ and ‘do something on your to-do list’.
Instagram, which is owned by social media giant Meta (formerly Facebook), has recently faced intense scrutiny over how it lures its users to spend excessive amounts of time on its apps.
App algorithms can identify the sort of content that users engage with the most, and then ramp out that particular type of content to keep them hooked.
Last month, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen said ‘Instagram may never be safe for 14-year-olds’, after the tech giant’s own research suggested children are turning into app addicts.
Take a Break could help cut ‘Instagram addiction’, which has been linked to harmful effects on mental health (stock image)
The former employee said Facebook knew Instagram is dangerous for young people but did not want to act because ‘young users are the future of the platform and the earlier they get them the more likely they’ll get them hooked’.
Haugen also said the platform was unwilling to sacrifice ‘even a slither of profit’ for safety improvements.
Also last month, scientists at University of Technology Sydney revealed there are 46 harmful effects linked to the use of social media, and not all of them were mental health related.
