Google advises to close the smartphone with an envelope

Within the framework of the Digital Wellbeing project, Google launched several new projects at once. The most unusual of these is the Envelope, a technique in which you have to put your smartphone in a special envelope to limit its use for off-the-job use.

The application of the same name gives a PDF document with an unfolded envelope, which must be printed, assembled, put inside the phone and sealed. In doing so, you will retain access to basic functions such as making calls. So far, the app has a template only for Pixel 3A, but Google posted source code on GitHub - enthusiasts will probably adapt the deployment for other smartphone models in the future.

The video also showed an envelope that only allows you to take photos and videos. This is how it looks:

At the same time, Google released a couple of apps that also help raise awareness when using a smartphone. The first of these is the Activity Bubble tracker. Every time you unlock your device, a new bubble falls on the screen. The longer you sit on your phone, the bigger this bubble becomes. If your screen is almost full at the end of the day, it may be a signal that you should let your phone out of your hands more often.

Another program with a similar idea is the Screen Stopwatch counter. This is a live wallpaper that only counts down when the smartphone is unlocked. That way, at the end of the day, you'll know how much time you've spent on your phone. The idea here is about the same as in Activity Bubble - the application visualizes how attached you really are to your smartphone.

DownloadQR-Code

Screen Stopwatch - A Digital Wellbeing Experiment

Developer: Google Creative Lab

Price: Free

DownloadQR-Code

Activity Bubbles - A Digital Wellbeing Experiment

Developer: Google Creative Lab

Price: Free

This is not the first such initiative from Google. Previously, Android applications have already been released as part of the Digital Wellbeing project - for example, Desert Islandswhich allows you to use only 7 (selected by you) apps for 24 hours, Post Box (a utility that sends you notifications from other programs not as they appear, but immediately in a bunch at specified intervals) and Unlock clockwhich counts how many times you have unlocked your smartphone per day.