Apple might be working to cure the worst tech addiction of all: Your iPhone

Apple wants to help you put down your iPhone.
 By 
Karissa Bell
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Do you love your iPhone? Like really love it? Well, Apple might just have something to say about that.

The company is reportedly working on new features for iOS that are meant to help curb our collective iPhone addiction, which will be unveiled at next week's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

The report comes from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who reports that Apple will introduce a new "Digital Health initiative," which will include "a series of tools to help users monitor how much time they spend on their devices and inside of certain applications."

If that sounds familiar, that's because it's similar to Google's recently announced Android updates, which are also meant to combat phone addiction. In Google's case, they include a new app timer, which lets you set time limits for using specific apps as well as a new "shush" feature, which activates "Do Not Disturb" mode when your phone is face down.

It's not clear how far Apple plans to go with its approach, and whether the new settings menu will let you set app-specific limits or simply make it easier to see just how much time you're wasting those apps. (iOS already lets you view app usage stats in your settings, but the company could make the feature more prominent and more detailed.)

Some app makers have already taken it upon themselves to build features that could reduce the amount of time users spend in their app. YouTube recently added a "take a break" feature to remind users when to stop watching, and Instagram announced an "insights" feature that will show just how much time you're spending in the app.

Topics Apple iPhone

Mashable Image
Karissa Bell

Karissa was Mashable's Senior Tech Reporter, and is based in San Francisco. She covers social media platforms, Silicon Valley, and the many ways technology is changing our lives. Her work has also appeared in Wired, Macworld, Popular Mechanics, and The Wirecutter. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and watching too many cat videos on Instagram. Follow her on Twitter @karissabe.

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