Instagram to remove shorter daily time limit options: Report

According to a TechCrunch report, Instagram is discontinuing some app time limit options and encouraging users to update their settings. Initially, users could select a time limit as low as five minutes per day, while new options beginning at 30 minutes and go up to three hours.

In screenshots submitted to TechCrunch by an Instagram user who had previously set a 10-minute daily limit, a pop-up now appears at the top of their feed, urging them to set a new daily limit value based on an update from the application. Although the pop-up says that the user can keep their existing limit if they wish, clicking the edit button prompts them to select a preset, the lowest of which is 30 minutes. An additional pop-up on the app's activity page says that the value of 10 minutes is "no longer supported." The app had been sending out reminders to change settings for a couple of weeks, the user says, and they could only avoid choosing a new limit by forcing the app to close.

A test by a US-based reporter at The Verge found that the currently available options are 30 minutes, 45 minutes, one hour, two hours and three hours. Instagram owner Meta did not immediately respond to questions sent by The Verge. Instagram introduced the option to set daily time limits in 2018, and company representatives said they wanted time in the app to be well spent. The time-limiting features were implemented in response to criticism from technology companies about their products' effect on user well-being.

"We want to empower people to make intentional decisions about how much time they spend and how they want to engage with the app," Ameet Ranadive, who lead a user well-being team at Instagram, told The Verge in 2018. The daily time limit setting changes come just a few months after Instagram introduced the Take a Break feature. In addition, users can opt for regular reminders if they've been on the app continuously.

This commitment to empowering users appears to be at odds with removing shorter time limits from the app. Back in November, when the "Take a Break" feature was being tested, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri emphasized that "you know what's best for you when it comes to how you use the app." So a slightly longer time limit might not be a deal-breaker for most people on Instagram. But it's a change that indicates Instagram may be more concerned that users aren't spending enough time on the platform rather than making sure their time is well spent.