Facebook is developing a new feature called "Your Time on Facebook," which lets users keep track of the time they're spending on the app.
Time-Management Tool For Users
The new feature, discovered by serial tipster Jane Manchun Wong when she dug deeper into the code of Facebook's Android app, shows the amount of time one spends on the app on each day over the last week, as well as the average amount of time spent per day.
The feature could help users manage time spent on the social media platform as it also allows users to set a daily reminder that sets off an alert should users exceed their self-imposed time limit. It also enables users to access the notifications settings of the app.
Facebook confirmed that it is working on the feature but did not when the feature will be made available to users.
"We're always working on new ways to help make sure people's time on Facebook is time well spent," the company stated.
Last month, it was revealed that Facebook-owned Instagram was also planning to roll out a similar "Usage Insights" feature that shows users the amount of time they're spending on the app.
Facebook Embracing The Time Well Spent Movement
It looks like Facebook is following the footsteps of other tech companies like Apple and Google by providing users with information about how they're spending their time on smartphones and computers. It is the latest feature that tech companies are embracing amid rising concerns over the use of social media and tech addiction.
Former Google employee Tristan Harris and James Williams, a doctoral candidate at the Oxford Internet Institute, founded the Time Well Spent movement.
The initiative aims to improve the way apps and social media features are designed to prevent smartphone addiction and shed light on how companies are trying to capture as much of the users' attention as possible, without any consideration for how it affects their quality of life.
Earlier this year, Facebook said that it was still trying to figure out how to best measure and understand how much time users spend on the platform and "what people actually find meaningful."
In January, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, said that users were spending about 50 million fewer hours daily on the social media network thanks to changes made to the platform's news feed. He added that Facebook is now more interested in making sure people make "meaningful connections" on Facebook instead of promoting the addictive use of the platform.
