Manage how you spend time on your phone

About Moto Unplugged and Google's Digital Wellbeing

Moto Unplugged and Google's Digital Wellbeing offer distinct approaches to managing screen time and improving digital wellbeing.

Moto Unplugged helps you take spontaneous breaks from phone distractions by tailoring your mobile experience to your current mindset. This is achieved through sessions, where you can select which apps and notifications are allowed, and even require a password to end your break session. You can choose the time frame for your digital break, creating a personalised oasis without fully disconnecting. You can still access essential apps or notifications if you choose, allowing for a balanced approach to your digital life.

Digital Wellbeing, on the other hand, provides a comprehensive suite of tools to help you understand and manage your digital habits. Features include a dashboard that displays phone usage statistics, app timers to limit usage, customisable notifications to reduce distractions, and modes to help you minimise screen time during specific activities or times of the day. It also supports parental controls, offering parents the ability to monitor and control children's screen time and app usage.

In summary, use Moto Unplugged to spontaneously disconnect, how and when you want, and use Google's Digital Wellbeing for scheduled limits and comprehensive tools.

Stay focused with Moto Unplugged

Only some versions of this phone, sold in certain countries, support this feature.

Start a Moto Unplugged session any time you want to create a focused space by limiting apps and interruptions.

  1. Open the Moto Unplugged app or open quick settings and tap .

  2. Tap Customise to:

    • Choose what apps are available during your Moto Unplugged session
    • Choose a wallpaper for your Moto Unplugged session
    • Choose what can interrupt your Moto Unplugged session
    • Require a password (the same one you use to unlock your phone) to make ending your session more intentional.
  3. Tap Start.
  4. Enable any requested permissions.
  5. Set the session time, then tap Start.

What to expect during your session:

  • See the apps you've chosen, but nothing else
  • Notifications won't appear on the notification curtain, but you still get the calls and messages you choose

To end a session before the time expires, tap the Moto Unplugged widget, quick settings or notification.

Understand your habits

  1. Go to Settings > Digital Wellbeing & parental controls.

  2. Review the chart to see:

    • Time you spent using phone today
    • Which apps you've had on screen and for how long
    • How often you unlocked the phone today
    • How many notifications you have received
  3. For more information, touch a label on the chart. For example, to see your screen time for the week, touch today's usage time.

Limit daily screen time

For individual apps, you can set a timer that limits the amount of time you spend on the app every day.

TipTo manage your child's screen time, use parental controls.

To set an app timer:

  1. Go to Settings > Digital Wellbeing & parental controls.

    Or Settings > Apps > Screen time.

  2. Next to the app you want to limit, touch and tap the chart.
  3. Set the total time that you can use the app per day.

When you reach your time limit in an app:

  • The app closes.
  • Its icon dims and no longer opens the app.

The app timer resets at midnight. To use the app before midnight, go back to the timer in Settings and extend the time or delete the timer.

Pause distracting apps to focus

Use Focus to pause selected apps for fewer distractions.

  1. Go to Settings > Digital Wellbeing & parental controls > Focus.
  2. To select the apps to pause, tap see all apps, then mark apps.

  3. Do one of the following:

    • To turn it on, tap Turn on now.
    • To have it turn on automatically, tap Set a schedule, then select days of the week and start/end times.

When Focus is on:

  • You'll see in the status bar.
  • You won't be able to use the selected apps and won't get notifications from them.
TipTo add Focus to quick settings, open quick settings, tap , then drag the tile where you want it.

To turn Focus off:

  • Open quick settings and tap .
  • Or, on the notification, tap Turn off now. (To turn it off for a short period, tap Take a break.)

To remove the schedule:

  1. Do one of the following:

    • Open quick settings, then touch and hold .
    • Go to Settings > Digital Wellbeing & parental controls > Focus.
  2. Next to Schedule, tap .
TipTo mute sounds, stop vibration and block notifications for all calls and notifications, use Do Not Disturb.

Make it easier to put your phone away at bedtime

You can schedule changes to get ready for sleep.

  1. Go to Settings > Digital Wellbeing & parental controls > Bedtime mode.
  2. Select when to turn on Bedtime mode.
  3. Adjust start and end times if required.

  4. Tap Customise to set what your phone should do during this scheduled time:

    • You can customise this mode to change how your phone looks (greyscale, dark theme) and responds.
    • Silence your phone (turn on Do Not Disturb).
    • Use greyscale or dimmed colour and light (touch Screen options at bedtime).

Use parental controls

You can:

  • Control your child's access to devices and apps
  • Control location settings and view the location of your child's supervised device
  • Set daily usage limits, monitor app usage and remotely lock supervised devices
  • Set filters and controls on what your child can browse, purchase or download using Chrome, Google Search, Play Store and YouTube

You'll need to set up parental controls on your and your child's devices.

To set up parental controls on this phone:

  1. Go to Settings > Digital Wellbeing & parental controls.
  2. touch Set up parental controls.
  3. Follow the onscreen instructions to set up the phone for child or adult usage.
  4. To set up parental controls on the other device, refer to the help information for that device.

To learn more, read Google's help.