For better or worse, short-form video is here to stay, and YouTube is continuing to build out its TikTok rival. This time, however, the update isn’t designed to keep you interacting with shorts for longer — it’s to get you off the platform without wasting too much of your time.
YouTube is adding a built-in timer to Shorts accessible via your account settings within the mobile app, according to a post shared on the brand’s support forums (h/t TechCrunch). The idea differs a little from YouTube’s bedtime reminders, instead building in a customizable daily limit for Shorts that disables scrolling once met. Much like other screen-time tools, this timer isn’t a hard limit; users can dismiss the prompt entirely and resume scrolling at-will, though the company plans to add a non-dismissible version into parental control options later this year.
YouTube isn’t first to this idea — in fact, by some metrics, it’s late. Both TikTok and Instagram Reels have similar functionality available for use right now, and considering just how addicting some of this content can be (especially when involving kids), it seems like the least these companies can do. While it’s great to see YouTube offering an easy-to-implement self-control tool, I’d personally like to see the option for non-dismissible prompts added outside of parental control options in the coming months. Screen-time controls like Digital Wellbeing are great in theory, but they’re often just too easily ignored, and this feels like another one of those cases.
Google just started rolling out these changes to YouTube users today, meaning it might not be active in your account just yet. Likewise, this tool is only available on mobile; desktop users will still need to manage their Shorts viewing time without any helpful reminders or nudges.
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