Digital well-being on Android: what it is and how to use it

And it is that we are facing a software tool that allows us to monitor and control a significant number of possibilities. Therefore, it is important to know at all times what data you have about us and if we can do something about it, in the event that we want to ensure that you do not know so much information about us. But it is possible?

The data you have

The truth is that this software tool that began to be integrated into Android mobiles from Android 9. Even, Google imposed the obligation to have this software by default if a brand that uses Android wanted its phone to be certified.

In addition, it is not for less, since, with this feature, the phone can know almost everything about us. Specifically, the Digital Wellbeing application has this information from us:

• How often you use different apps.
• Number of notifications you receive.
• How often you check the phone.
• Daily app timers allow you to set limits for the use of apps.

However, we already anticipate that we will be able to configure this tool so that it does not know as much information about the use we make of the mobile device .

Set up your dashboard

The control panel of this tool will be the first thing we see once we enter the Digital Wellbeing app. Although, to expressly enter the Control Panel section, we must click on the option that calls this way or click on the place where the minutes that we have been using the phone appear.

Once we enter this section, we can review the following aspects. In addition, you can collect information for a whole week:

• Time of use of the Android device : within this option we can see in which applications we have spent the most time.
• Notifications that we have received on the smartphone: it will also show us which applications we have received these notifications.
• The number of times we have unlocked the mobile phone : it will also let us see the number of times we have entered a specific software.

This application will not appear by default among our applications if we do not want to. If we enter Settings> Digital well-being and parental controls, we find an option with which it will not be displayed in the list of apps on our smartphone. To do this, we must uncheck the option to Show icon in the list of applications. In case we do want it to appear, we just have to leave this option checked.

Avoid distractions

Among the options that it offers us to reduce distractions so that we do not waste too much time looking at the mobile, the Digital Wellbeing software gives us the following possibilities: Rest Mode and Mode without distractions .

To activate the Rest Mode we must select it within Digital Wellbeing and choose how you want the Rest mode to be activated. You can choose the start and end times, and the days of the week. Or even when charging while you rest. You can choose an hour in ‘After’ and another in ‘Before’.

We will also have the option to Customize. In it we can configure the settings indicated below so that they are activated together with the Rest mode:

• Grayscale – Makes the screen look black and white.
• Do not bother.
• Keep screen dark: turn off the always-on screen when you go to sleep.

As for the Distraction-Free Mode, we can choose the applications we want to pause. When Distraction Free mode is activated, we will not be able to use them or receive any notification from them. We can even set a scheduled time if we click on Set a schedule . Within this section we can choose the following aspects:

• Start and end time.
• Weekdays.

Set limits

In case we do want to control the time of use of each application throughout a day, we can achieve it thanks to this tool. Although, app timers may not work on some work and school accounts. Even so, we can configure this function as follows:

1. Open your phone’s Settings (or the Digital Wellbeing app).
2. Tap on the Digital Wellbeing and Parental Controls option.
3. Click on the chart or control panel.
4. Tap Add app timer next to the app you want to limit . In the apps that you can, an icon in the shape of an hourglass will appear.
5. Set the time limit you want to spend in that app, then tap OK.

Also, once the time is up, the app will close and its icon will dim. Of course, keep in mind that the timers of the apps are reset at midnight. In case you want to use the application again before midnight, you will have to click on the hourglass inside the control panel and click on the Delete timer option.

Manage your data

Luckily, it also manages all the data that Digital Wellbeing may know about us every time we use the mobile device. And the thing is, there will come a time when the exhaustive control it has over what we do or stop doing will seem too much for us. Therefore, to find the options that we can configure about our data we must enter this app and follow these steps:

1. Click on the three points that will appear in the upper right part of the panel.
2. Select the Manage your data section.

Within this section, we will enter a section in which the options that we can activate or deactivate about the data in Digital Wellbeing will appear. In this menu, we can enable or disable these options:

• Daily use of the device : includes information about the unlocks of the device, the daily notifications we receive and the use of the apps on a weekly basis.
• Sensor data during sleeping hours.
• Time zone history.

If you want Digital Wellbeing to stop knowing how many hours you spend glued to your mobile phone, you just have to deactivate the option of Daily use of the device .