Too much screen time? New phone controls for you and kids

NEW YORK—Apple and Google want to help you spend less time on their phones—really. Like that time you checked Facebook at 3 a.m. Stats don’t lie.

Their new tools for managing screen time will let you see how often you picked up the phone after bedtime or how long you’re on Instagram at work (shame on you). Apple’s tools also let you control how long your kids spend on their devices, if you’re concerned that screens are taking time away from sleep, homework or exercise.

Apple’s tools launch Tuesday as part of the free iOS 12 software update for iPhones, iPads and the iPod Touch. Google’s controls are being tested on its Pixelbranded Android phones.

FOR THE KIDS

Apple’s new controls for kids let you manage their time on their own devices, such as an iPad or a hand-me-down iPhone. Once you’ve got them set up, you can use your iPhone to check when your children are on their devices and what apps or websites they’re using. You can restrict particular classes of apps and even establish a quiet period when most apps shut down.

That latter “Downtime” feature is promising, though it has a few shortcomings. For one thing, it only lets you choose a single block of time each day, so if you’re blocking late-night hours, you can’t set a separate downtime for school hours. Plus, your selection applies seven days a week; you can’t set different hours for weekends unless you want to manually change the settings every Friday and Monday.

A new “Screen Time” feature lets you establish time limits for categories of apps, such as entertainment or games. In this case, limits can be different on weekends. You can also set limits app by app, or for specific websites, but it’s tricky. From the Screen Time settings, tap the chart at the top to get a list of apps and websites. Tap on an app or site, and look for “Add Limit” at the bottom.

Kids can ask for more time with a few taps. If you ignore or decline the request, Screen Time isn’t supposed to let them keep asking. But for the moment, kids can just reopen the app to bug you with another request. Get ready for a digital version of “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?”

FOR THE ADULTS

You can set the same limits for your own device, but it requires self-discipline. Want more Instagram? No problem — just tap for extra time. If you really need help, ask a friend or family member to set that Screen Time passcode and keep it secret.

Google has similar controls, called Digital Wellbeing, but they’re intended for adults (among other things, there’s no passcode, which limits their usefulness for setting limits on kids). This feature is currently only available on the company’s own Pixel phones, although Google plans to make it more broadly available in a forthcoming Android update called Pie.