Google is making these changes to the UI and features of Android’s Digital Wellbeing app
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Google is making some changes to the UI of the Digital Wellbeing app on Android. The app could replace the dashboard with a new activity section and rename App Timers to App Limits. Google may also allow users to set a PIN to change app limits. Google is making […]
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is making some changes to the UI of the Digital Wellbeing app on Android.
- The app could replace the dashboard with a new activity section and rename App Timers to App Limits.
- Google may also allow users to set a PIN to change app limits.
Google is making several changes to its Digital Wellbeing app, which comes pre-installed on most Android devices and helps users monitor and control their smartphone usage. If you’ve used Digital Wellbeing before, you’ll soon notice some UI changes that might affect the usability of the app.
Android Authority contributor Assemble Debug spotted and enabled these changes after performing a teardown of the Digital Wellbeing app’s 1.11 beta APK.
An APK teardown helps predict what features might come to a service in the future based on the code being worked on. However, these planned features may not be available in a public release.
Assemble debug found the following code in the aforementioned release of Digital Wellbeing, detailing the upcoming changes.
Coded
PIN for app time limits
If set, a PIN will be required
before changes to an app’s time limit
App limits PIN
Set a PIN for app time limits
The PIN can be used
to prevent changes to app time limits
PIN for app time limits
PIN is required
every time a change is made to app time limiits on this device These strings of code indicate three upcoming changes to digital well-being that our contributor was able to enable.
“App Timers” are now called “App Limits” and have their own separate section within the app. Previously, the feature was part of the “Dashboard”. Apps with limits set by users will be filtered and placed at the top of the section. Google is also renaming the Digital Wellbeing app’s “Dashboard” to “View Activity Details.”
It’s also possible that Google will soon allow users to set a PIN to change app limits. Once set, a PIN will be required every time a user wants to change an app limit. This could be a valuable tool for parents to set app limits for children.
It’s unclear when these new digital wellbeing changes will take effect, but since they appeared in the beta version of the app, Google could roll them out soon.
