Instagram is reportedly experimenting with a new “Take a Break” feature that will encourage users to do just that.
Meta-owned Instagram is testing a new digital wellbeing feature that it hopes will help people “reset” and take some time away from it, explains a new report from TechCrunch. The feature, dubbed “Take a Break,” will prompt people to do exactly that when scrolling through their feeds.
If you opt in to the feature, you can ask the app to remind you to take a break after 10 minutes, 20 minutes, or 30 minutes — the choice is yours.
Then, after the selected period of time passes, you’ll see a message appear on your screen saying: “Time for a break? Take a moment to reset by closing Instagram.” It then offers suggestions about what you might want to do, such as, “Take a few deep breaths; Write down what you’re thinking; Listen to your favorite song; Do something on your to-do list.”
In the below video posted on Twitter, Mosseri said: “Ultimately, you know what’s best for you when it comes to how you use the app. And we want to make sure we provide tools for you to shape Instagram into what works for you.”
Testing “Take a Break” 🧑🔬
We started testing a new feature called “Take a Break” this week. This opt-in control enables you to receive break reminders in-app after a duration of your choosing.
I’m excited to dig into the results & hopefully launch this sometime in December. ✌🏼 pic.twitter.com/WdSTjL6ZdH
— Adam Mosseri 😷 (@mosseri) November 10, 2021
Instagram worked with third-party experts to develop the feature, and it will begin rolling out to a small percentage of users over the coming days. The company plans to launch it sometime in December and if the testing goes smooth, “Take a Break” will be available to all users in a month or two.
