Instagram changes daily app time limit options, lowest is now 30 minutes

Instagram will no longer be offering some daily app time limit options to users who are trying to curtail their usage of the app according to a TechCrunch report. Earlier, you were able to set your daily app usage time limit as low as 15 minutes, but now 30 minutes is the lowest limit offered the app.
“The available values for daily limits are changing as part of an app update. You can select one of the values below or choose to keep your exing limit of 35 minutes”, the app’s user interface (UI) now notes. Users could previously set a time limit of 35 minutes or even 15 minutes, but that option has now disappeared.
The new limit values offered Instagram are for 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours and 3 hours.
The social media platform now offers fewer values as options to set daily time limits
Instagram had rolled out the time limit feature in 2018 in what Meta (Facebook at the time) had termed as a bid to get users to spend their time mindfully. “We want the time people spend on Instagram and Facebook to be intentional, positive and inspiring. Our hope is that these tools give people more control over the time they spend on our platforms and also foster conversations between parents and teens about the online habits that are right for them,” the company had said at the time.

This development looks like a bid to attract more user attention from a company whose platforms are facing challenges like plateauing user growth, Apple’s new “App Tracking Transparency” feature on its iPhones, and stiff competition from newcomers like TikTok.
Mark Zuckerberg presented the company’s dismal earnings report on 2 February, the company’s stock plummeted over 26%, wiping out $230 billion in market value.