People who use TikTok often say that they waste a lot of time on it, especially at night. In response to these worries, the company is testing new sleep reminders that let you set up alerts for when it’s time to go to bed and turn off notifications while you’re sleeping for the recommended seven hours. TechCrunch heard from TikTok on Friday that the new sleep reminders are being tested with a small group of users around the world.
Screenshots that product intelligence company Watchful.ai shared show that the new feature can be found in the app’s “screen time” settings. People who are taking part in the test will see a new option called “sleep reminders.” The app says that sleep reminders will let you “know if you reach your sleep time on TikTok to help you get to bed when you want to.” After you choose a sleep time, the app will remind you to close it when that time comes. TikTok will also turn off push notifications for seven hours after your bedtime so you won’t be disturbed.
A company representative said that TikTok is always working on new ways to help users feel better, and that this new tool builds on the digital well-being features it already has. Screen-time management tools were added to the app in February 2020. Since then, more features have been added to give users more control over how they use the app.
In June of last year, the company added a feature to the app that lets users schedule regular breaks from their screens. This helps them control how much time they spend on TikTok in one sitting. By default, it suggests break reminders of 10, 20, or 30 minutes. However, users can set reminders for a custom time if they want to work for a longer or shorter amount of time before the alert appears. Teen accounts can only get notifications at certain times at night. Users between the ages of 13 and 15 don’t get push notifications after 9 p.m., and users between the ages of 16 and 17 don’t get push notifications after 10 p.m.
A lot of psychological research has been done on how addictive TikTok is because of how well its advanced recommendation technology can distract and engage users. So, it’s not surprising that TikTok is testing new tools that will give users more control over how they use the app. As with any other test feature, it’s not clear if or when TikTok will make the sleep reminders feature available to everyone.
Info source : Tech Crunch