Facebook could offer users info on how much time they spend in-app

An unreleased feature on the Facebook app could give users insights into how much time they spend on the social network, tracking both average daily usage and how long youve spent in-app over the past seven days.

According to TechCrunch, a “Your Time on Facebook” feature is buried within the Android version of the app, and will also enable users to set a self-imposed limit, with daily reminders when you go over, as well as an easy shortcut to change your Facebook notification settings, if all those pings are causing you to dally within the app.

While there is no sign of an official release for the feature, a Facebook spokesperson has confirmed that the feature is in development, saying “Were always working on new ways to help make sure peoples time on Facebook is time well spent.”

The unreleased feature was spotted by engineer Jane Manchun Wong, who has previously spotted other features being worked on in the background of social networking apps, including a similar function for Instagram.

The feature is part of a new wave of awareness that seems to be emerging over the addictive power of smartphones, and the sensible limits users should place on their own time spent with technology. Both Android and Apple iOS are introducing screen-time monitoring dashboards that reveal which apps occupy the majority of the users attention, and can alert and even lock out users when limits are hit.

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