Instagram addicts will have to rely on self control if they want to keep their browsing time to under 30 minutes a day after the photo sharing platform quietly made its usage limits less limiting.
It was previously possible to restrict yourself to just 10 minutes of Instagram per day within the iPhone app. Now 30 minutes is the smallest time limit.
Instagram messes with its usage limits
Instagram added the option to limit your usage time in 2018 — soon after Apple introduced its Screen Time feature for iOS 12 — in an effort to help those who are looking to reduce the time they spend on social media.
The feature doesn’t prevent you from using Instagram once you reach your daily limit, but it does provide an alert to remind you that it’s time to stop scrolling. Now you can’t get one of those alerts for at least 30 minutes.
An Instagram update rolled out on Monday removes the 10-minute limit option. You can now select between 30 minutes and three hours. TechCrunch suggests ad money is the reason behind it.
“It seems the attention-loving adtech giant now wants Instagram users to spend longer eyeballing content feeds on the photo- and video-sharing platform where it can cash in by targeting them with ads,” reads the report.
Instagram asks users to change their settings
If you previously used the 10-minute time limit that is now gone, you may have already received an alert from Instagram asking you to select a new option. It doesn’t explain (unsurprisingly) why changes were made.
It’s important to note that you aren’t forced to select another option. Existing 10-minute limits remain intact, though Instagram does employ some annoying tactics, like persistent notifications, to push you into a change.
You can enforce stricter blocks on Instagram — and any other app — if you feel like you’re spending too much time in them. Screen Time in iOS lets you disable any app after you’ve used it for a certain period of time each day.
