Android adds a feature to prevent you from scrolling

The anti-death feature is now built into Android. (Yes, things have gotten that bad.)

Google on Tuesday announced Pause Point, which is designed to prevent users from engaging with addictive apps on Android, the mobile operating system that powers Google Pixel smartphones, Samsung devices and others.

The Pause Point feature works by asking you to pause for 10 seconds after opening any app that you have labeled yourself as a distraction. TikTok, Instagram,

With this addition, Google is not only thinking about the well-being of users, of course.

It is reacting to growing regulatory pressures around social media harms and algorithmic risks. Today, many countries and U.S. states have created laws to restrict or prohibit minors from using social media, as the impact of these apps on young people’s mental health is better understood.

Google can now point to a feature like Pause Point to claim it’s part of the solution, not the problem.

“Android is more capable than ever, but we also want to give you the tools to disconnect when you need to,” Dieter Bohn, former executive editor at The Verge and now director of product operations at Google’s Platforms and Ecosystems organization, explained at an Android 17 update press conference.

“I think we’re all guilty of getting on our phones and then opening up some app and being stuck on autopilot, and it’s been an hour,” he said.

So far, social media app makers, including YouTube, have turned to the idea of ​​app timers as a way to remind you to take a break or stop scrolling. Pause Point turns this idea on its head, interrupting the app’s launch — and the flood of dopamine that follows — to force you to stop and rethink whether this is what you actually want to do, or just a habit you’d like to kick.

Google says you can use the time provided by Pause Point to do a short breathing exercise or think of other things you can do instead of scrolling. For example, the feature could suggest more worthwhile apps, such as a favorite fitness app, audiobook app, Kindle app, Google Play Books, or others.

You can also choose to scroll through some favorite photos to get ideas – perhaps ones that remind you of other engaging activities, such as walking outdoors, your pets, or arts and crafts.

Additionally, Pause Point lets you choose to set a timer for the app before diving in, making the time you spend inside the app feel more intentional to begin with. This can work better than the default timer, which is always set for the same amount of time, even with different circumstances prompting you to take a break from scrolling.

This feature is harder to turn off than traditional app timers too, as many of them can simply be ignored. Instead, Pause Point requires restarting the phone to turn it off, Google says, which should also make you think before you disable it.

Pause Point may not be as fun (or great) as screen-time-focused or self-care apps like Finch or Hank Green’s Focus Friend, but it has the advantage of being built into Android itself, which may help it gain traction.