When the Android P Beta was announced at the Google I/O developer conference last week, the search giant also unveiled a new feature of the next version of Android called “Digital Wellbeing” meant to let users monitor and limit phone usage. Instagram now appears to be taking a page from Google's stylebook as the Facebook-owned photo- and video-sharing app is working on a new feature called "Usage Insights" which will allow users to know more about the time they spend on Instagram.
On Twitter, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom confirmed the service's upcoming time management tool:
The feature was first discovered by app investigator Jane Manchun Wong via code hidden inside Instagram's Android application package, which shows the Usage Insights tool that will disclose the "time spent" on the platform. By showing users how much time they spend on Instagram, the social networking service might risk prompting people to spend less time on the app.
Nonetheless, Systrom highlights the importance of gaining insights into how screen times affect the well-being of individuals, saying:
It remains to be seen when Instagram will officially roll out the new tool to users in general. In addition to Usage Insights, Wong also revealed that Instagram is testing other new features for commenting such as the emoji bar for giving emoji comments and the @ button for tagging friends in a comment.
Source: Kevin Systrom (Twitter) via TechCrunch
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