Android 17’s Pause Point isn’t out yet. Now there are 3 ways to repeat it

Stable version Android 17 has finally dropped June 2026 has added some great new features for Pixel phones. However, in typical Google fashion, not every Android 17 feature announced during Google I/O is available yet. One of the greats who haven’t arrived yet Pause Pointa new Digital Health tool designed to help you break the habit of using an autopilot app or doomscrolling.

What sets Pause Point apart from Android’s existing Digital Health tools is that instead of kicking you out of the app on startup, it takes a slightly different approach by giving you a 10-second breather to consider your intention to open the app in the first place. Pause Point also lets you set a usage timer and even offers alternative apps to make better use of your free time. The cool part is that you need to restart your phone to turn it off, which means it’s not that easy to turn off Pause Point and go back to your old habit.

Pause Point is said to be coming “later this year,” which could mean anything from the next Pixel Drop update within a month to later this year. The good news is that you don’t have to wait for Pause Point to curb your time-wasting phone habits.

Here are three things you can try right away to control your doomsday cheat addiction.

The first step in combating autopilot app use is to admit you have a problem and identify the main time-wasting apps on your phone. These are usually one-thumb scrollers like TikTok or Instagram. To combat any addiction, we must first create “friction” on the entry point. Chances are you have a lot of shortcuts for apps on your home screen.

Removing shortcuts to distracting apps or placing them in folders has created more friction for intentional use. scientifically proven to work When you unlock your phone, the urge to open these apps automatically decreases when you’re out of sight. I’ve tried this myself with food ordering apps. Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed a huge reduction in the number of times I order food just by removing the app shortcuts from the home screen.

In addition to app shortcuts, it is also advisable to disable or limit notifications from such apps. On Android, you can now refine and refine which notifications you want to receive and block.

To do this, simply long press the application icon ask the question and tap on it ‘I’ symbol. Click on the next page Notices. You can turn off all notifications or mute specific notifications below Notification categories. Unlike Gmail or chat apps, where you can receive important notifications that require your immediate attention, time-wasting apps can wait.

If these two things don’t really help you, it’s time to explore the various tools included in Android’s Digital Health feature.

Google already has a number of tools to combat screen addiction in its Digital Health program, and it’s time to put them to good use. While these tools are designed to create friction while using the app, you’ll occasionally be reminded of how much you’ve been using the app, and they’re also very easy to dismiss or turn off, making it easy to fall back into old habits. We did detailed instructions on how to use these tools in the past, but since some options and layout have changed in Android 17, I’ll quickly go over some basics.

search for Digital Health in your section Settings program and open it. Underneath Ways to disconnectyou’ll see all the tools you can use to limit app usage.

with Program Timeryou can set a timer for how much you should use the app each day. After the timer expires, the app will be grayed out. It’s not the most effective, but you still open the grayed-out app, only get a warning message, which can easily be removed with a tap. Stop the program again for full control.

Focus a little more rigid and easier to set up, because it allows you to select multiple programs at once and set a break schedule for the entire week. If you feel you don’t want restrictions on your days off, you can skip weekends here. One advantage of Focus is that if you open a suspended program, it lets you use it for five minutes, but it doesn’t stop it permanently. For the latter, you need to go to the main Health page and turn it off.

If you want something less obtrusive, enable it Screen time reminders. This is enabled by default for all apps on your phone. As the name suggests, it simply shows a pop-up bubble about how much you have used the app. It doesn’t block you or anything, it just remembers how long you’ve been using the app.

If self-restraint and standard Android tools still aren’t enough, it’s time to bring out the big guns. One second It’s a neat little app with a similar feature to Pause Point: it asks you to take a deep breath before giving you the option to continue using the app or close it.

It also shows you statistics like how many times you opened the app in the last 24 hours to give you a reality check. There are no ads, but the free version is limited to monitoring only one app. The $20/year Pro plan unlocks all features, including unlimited app monitoring, time tracking, and more.

Try to combat the endless scrolling of Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts ScrollGuard. This free app prevents you from opening the Reels or Shorts tab in the respective apps, while the anti-scroll feature displays a giant black box on sections with infinite scrolling.

You can get a lifetime license of ScrollGuard Pro for less than $20, which unlocks per-program Shorts controls, custom threshold settings for anti-scroll, and the ability to view Reels from friends without triggering the blocker.

Finally, there is Forestgamifies your focus sessions by planting and growing virtual trees. Every successful focus session where you don’t switch apps or get distracted helps your tree grow, but end the session too early for too long away from the app and the tree starts to dry out.

It’s more of a mindfulness app than a blocker, with a well-designed interface and fun tasks to complete.

Smartphone manufacturers have been using various tricks to curb app addiction for years. Zen Mode (now Zen Space) was a big deal on OnePlus smartphones about five years ago, and it looks like Samsung is doubling down on it. An upcoming tool in One UI 9 beta. According to a recent report request According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), more than one-third of adults (mostly young adults) admit that nighttime tossing has a negative impact on their sleep. Even the older generation is like that reported is not immune to the alluring glare of the smartphone screen.

No wonder Google is once again focusing its efforts on bringing another tool to help users fight this addiction. Pause Point should hopefully offer a more robust and better integrated approach to combating doomscroll addiction. But until this feature arrives, there are still plenty of precautions you should take if you’re willing to comply.