Affiliate Disclaimer To check screen time in Android, you need to open Settings and click on Digital Wellbeing and parental controls. You will see the time of active phone usage with categories and most used apps. But if you go into details, you can find much more.
What can you see on Screen Time on Android?
- total screen time;
- most used apps;
- screen time goal for each day;
- time spent on social apps, including the number of app opens and notifications;
- how many minutes per day you spend on an app;
- specific time you open an app. It gives an idea of what time of day a person uses a certain app.
- options to set a timer for apps;
- time spent on productive activities;
- screen time while driving.
For parents, you can check out parental controls using the Google Family link. There, you will see specific screen time features like the daily limit, downtime, and app limits remotely.
If you want more comprehensive screen time monitoring, a professional phone tracker is the best for tracking how a child uses their phone. With an app like uMobix, you can monitor how they spend time on their device, scrolling through apps or chatting on WhatsApp and other messengers.
Why is it important?
Children between the ages of 8 and 12 spend an average of 4-6 hours a day on screens, with teenagers spending up to 9 hours. The CDC study found that the percentage of teens who had symptoms of depression and anxiety was higher among those with four or more hours of screen time.
Similarly, adults who have more than six hours of screen time are at a higher risk of depression.
Thus, controlling screen time is already a necessity for everyone. Let’s see how to use this feature to your advantage.
Note: for further testing, I used Samsung A33. The settings on other phone models can slightly differ.
What Android Phones Have Screen Time?
Android phones running Android 9 and later have a screen time feature called Digital Wellbeing. The screen time settings vary, with some working on Android 10 and higher.
The major difference between Android 9 and Android 10 and higher is that Android 9 devices focus on showing screen time for apps and a bedtime mode, which turns the phone into grayscale and silences notifications.
Android 10 devices have a Focus mode, which can pause apps and allow only specific apps to send notifications. It can also pause all notifications temporarily.
The Focus mode works differently on various devices. For example, on Google Pixel phones, you select the apps to pause, but on Samsung Galaxy phones, you get more customization options like modes and routines to start Focus mode automatically.
Your operating system will determine the features that you get in the digital wellbeing settings, but most Android phones have a screen time feature, including Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel, Xiaomi and Realmi phones, Oppo, OnePlus, etc.
How to Check Screen Time Hourly, Daily, or Weekly
Screen time on Android shows you how you spend time on your phone. You need to access the Digital Wellbeing feature on your phone to see your hourly, daily, or weekly screen time.
- Open the Settings app and tap Digital Wellbeing and parental controls. You will see the total screen time for that day on top of the screen. It will also include specific screen time for Social, Productivity & Finance, and others.
- Tap on the top section where you see the time. It will open a tab called Today. You will see that day’s total screen time and the apps with the highest screen time. You will also see the number of notifications and phone unlocks.
- Swipe left to see the screen time for the previous week. You will see a bar graph with the days of the week and the screen time for each tap.
- Tap on the bar for a specific day to see the screen time for that day.
The hourly, daily, and weekly screen time will help you get a clear picture of how you spend time on your phone.
How to See Screen Time By Apps
A detailed look at the Digital wellbeing settings will help you see screen time for all the apps. It will show you the specific time you’ve actively spent on an app.
To see screen time by apps:
- Tap on the Most Used Apps Section to open a dashboard with the total app screen time.
- Tap View All to see the screen time by each app. You can then tap on a specific app to see the total time spent on that app, the number of notifications, and the app opens for that day.
- Tap on Weekly in the top-right corner to see the app screen time over the past weeks.
- Go back and tap on App timer to set the time limit for that app. Enter the time limit, click the days to apply the time limits, and tap Done when you finish.
Maris Loeffler, MA, Family and Marriage Therapist, and member of the Stanford Lifestyle Medicine Cognitive Enhancement pillar, says:
“App time limits help you manage your time on specific apps for digital wellbeing. They can help you be more mindful of your phone usage to avoid negative side effects of excessive screen time on mental health and sleep patterns.”
How to See Screen Time History
You can see how much screen time you have had on your phone in the past using the Digital Wellbeing feature.
Note that Android phones keep the screen time data for four weeks.
To see the screen time history on Android:
- Open Settings > Digital Wellbeing.
- Tap on one of the categories showing time usage like Social, Productivity & finance, or any of the categories that your phone gives you based on your phone’s usage.
- If you click on Social, it will open the window for the total screen time spent on social apps.
- Tap on weekly on the top right of the screen. This will open the daily social screen time, including the minutes per day, notifications per day, and app opens per day.
- Swipe right to see the previous week’s screen time.
Screen time history gives you a general view of phone usage. It does not get into the specifics, such as which apps you opened in the previous weeks. You will only see the number of hours or minutes spent on the apps of a certain category screen during the past four weeks.
How to Set Screen Time Goal
The screen time goal lets you set up the number of hours that you want to be using the phone. It will then show you if you stick to this time goal, or you go over the limit and for how many hours you go above the screen time goal.
- Open Settings > Digital wellbeing and parental controls.
- Scroll to Screen time goal and tap it Set goal.
- Enter the number of hours that you want to set the time goal and click Done. You will see the time screen goal wheel showing the time used and time remaining. It will also display the goal and the time remaining.
- When you tap on the screen time goal tab, it will open the calendar and history of how you have met the goal or gone above the time goal you’ve set up.
- Tap on a date to see the screen time usage for that day. The time is displayed using different color schemes for the time used, time remaining, and over the goal.
- You can change and delete the screen time goal by tapping Goal in the Screen time Goal tab.
Placing the Screen time widget on the home screen can be a visual reminder of daily screen usage. It can potentially help users to self-regulate their phone usage.
How to Check Screen Time With Google Family Link
If you’re a concerned parent worried about how your child spends time on their phone, Android phones have a parental control feature called Google Family Link.
Google Family Link sets up an account for your child, which gives you access to their phone. It then sends you notifications about various phone usage features, like when they download an app from the Google Play Store.
Family Link can also give you insights about how they spend their time on multiple apps. You don’t need to access your child’s phone to set up a screen time limit or limit content access on their device. You can do it all from the parent’s device.
In 2025, Google Family Link consolidated the screen time features allowing parents to see total screen time for each device. Parents can also approve downloads or block specific websites.
To see screen time on Google Family Link:
Link your phone to your child’s device using Google Family Link.
- When you’ve configured Family Link, open the app on your phone. It will open a tab with the parental control settings for the linked phones. If you have more than one child, click on the menu icon on the top left and select a child.
- Tap on highlights. You will see the total screen time on your child’s phone. It will also show you the most used app, and the average time they spent on their phone over the past week.
- Tap on the area where it says your child averages a certain amount of time on their phone. It will show you the specific hours and minutes per day and the time spent on the apps installed on their phone.
- Tap on an app to set a limit or block it. For example, if you want to limit YouTube, tap on YouTube > Set Limit, enter the number of hours you want to limit, and click Done.
Google Family Link shows you the time spent on various apps. You can set up daily limits, downtime, app limits, and content restrictions. You can also manage multiple kids’ devices using one Family Link account. Thus, supervising your child’s screen time becomes super easy.
Monitor Kid’s Phone Usage with Parental Control App
A professional parental control app is even better at monitoring a child’s Android screen time. You can check their mobile screen time anytime and block harmful apps.
You will be glad you invested in a tracking app if you have a child who hides their digital activities.
For example, uMobix parental control app takes screenshots of the time a child spends using an app. Additionally, it displays the content they watched, comments, search items, and how long they stayed on that app.
You cannot set time limits on uMobix, but you can block an application if you disapprove of it.
uMobix is a comprehensive phone monitoring app that will give you the best insights about your child’s screen time.
Why Can’t I See Screen Time on Android?
You may not see Screen Time on Android for different reasons: Digital Wellbeing isn’t enabled, your device doesn’t support it, the feature is hidden in settings, a software update is needed, parental controls restrict it, or there’s a bug or incorrect data reporting.
We asked our Android expert, Alex Dushyn, to answer the most popular inquiries.
1. Screen Time is not supported on your Android phone’s Operating System
“I’ve been searching everywhere for the Screen Time feature on my phone, but I just can’t find it! It’s so frustrating because I see other Android users talking about it like it’s built-in, but mine just doesn’t have it. Am I missing something? Is there a hidden setting I don’t know about?”
Expert answer: “Some Android phones like the Light Phone, Jitterbug, and Greentouch Mindful or those with Android 8 (Oreo) or earlier don’t have the screen time feature. This means you won’t see screen time on your phone, even if you want to manage your daily phone usage.”
2. Screen Time Has Been Discontinued on Your Device
“After the last update on my kid’s Xiaomi, I noticed that the Screen Time feature is missing. I used to rely on it to keep track of my son’s phone usage, and now it’s just not there.”
Expert answer: “Some phones, like Xiaomi with MIUI Global OS, no longer have screen time. Xiaomi’s MIUI is a heavily customized version of Android, and it often replaces or removes certain Google features in favor of its own alternatives.”
3. The Device’s Cache is Full
“I own a s21, and recently, I added a screen time widget and started checking my screen time. At first, around a week ago, I thought it showing 0 was normal because I had just added the widget; I’ve also checked the Digital Wellbeing app and settings page, but it still shows 0 screen time even though I have most definitely used my phone. This same problem also occurs in individual app timers. I have tried turning on all tracking settings, yet still no luck. Any help, advice, or anything in settings I should double-check?”
Source: US Community Samsung
Expert answer: “Your phone’s cache can prevent the screen time feature from recording the time spent on the phone. You can clear the phone’s cache to see if the problem is resolved.”
3. A Third-Party App is Interfering with Screen Time
“I’ve been using Screen Time regularly, but now it’s not showing any usage data. I’ve checked the settings, restarted my phone, and even updated the software, but it’s still not working. Any idea why this is happening?”
Expert answer: “Sometimes you may have installed an app that could be interfering with screen time. To ensure this is not the case, use your phone in Safe mode to see if screen time works. If the feature works in Safe mode, start by uninstalling the last updated apps when the problem started.”
4. The Phone Could be Running Malware
“I check my screen time through the ‘Digital Wellbeing and parental controls’ option in the Settings of my MI phone — Redmi Note 7. I manually calculated today’s usage, and it’s around 2-2½ hours. However, settings show 10 hr 30 min.
I toggled to see the ‘hourly’ distribution and saw many apps used at 4/5 AM. My phone was switched off during this time, and I was asleep. It says I used 4 hr of YouTube today, yet the stats on the YouTube app itself say 30 mins. Is this a common bug? Or should I be concerned?”
Source: Android forum
Expert answer: “If the screen time feature shows incorrect phone usage, the device could be running malware. Update your phone to get newer security updates, or install an anti-malware app, and scan the phone for viruses”.
Conclusion
Understanding how to check screen time in Android is crucial for managing your or your child’s screen time. The digital wellbeing feature gives you detailed methods of screen time management, including time goals and app limits.
On the other hand, you can use Google Family Link or an advanced phone monitoring tool like uMobix to manage your child’s screen time on an Android device remotely.
With the right settings, you can prevent phone addiction and the negative effects of excessive screen time for you and your child.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Android phones have a screen time feature called Digital wellbeing. To access it, open the Settings app and scroll down to Digital wellbeing and Parental controls.
To check phone total usage time, open the Digital Wellbeing and Parental controls feature. You will see the screen time widget and the total time spent on the phone.
To check screen time in Samsung, go to Settings > Digital Wellbeing and Parental controls. It will open the daily screen time and other options for managing phone usage.
Access the Digital Wellbeing & parental controls setting to track your mobile usage time. You will see options for setting the screen time goal and time limits for apps.
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