Facebook Unveils Tools to Tell Users When to Stop Scrolling

As tech giants face increasing criticism over the addictive nature of their products, Facebook is releasing features that do the opposite, according to Bloomberg.

Facebook and Instagram, its photo-sharing app, will add controls to help people measure how much time they’re spending on the sites, so they can dial it back if they want to. Users can also mute notifications on the apps for a certain period of time, or sign up to get an alert when they’ve been scrolling for too long.

"It’s not just about the time people spend on Facebook and Instagram but how they spend that time," Facebook said in a blog post. "It’s our responsibility to talk openly about how time online impacts people, and we take that responsibility seriously. We want the time people spend on Facebook and Instagram to be intentional, positive and inspiring.

Facebook has been working on improving the way people feel about its website, which has been a destination for political bickering, misinformation, clickbait and viral videos. As part of this push, Facebook said it convened a summit with online safety experts, researchers and teens in March to talk about technology and how it’s influencing well-being. It plans to tweak its products to further address concerns like a lack of kindness online.