How to set a daily time limit for apps on Android

2 min read · 4 steps · Updated 1 October 2026

Android calls app limits "app timers". A timer gives one app a set number of minutes per day. When they run out the icon turns grey and the app will not open until the next day.

Menu names below are from Google Pixel phones on a recent Android version. Samsung, Xiaomi and other brands rename some of them, so the Samsung name is given where it differs. The pictures are simplified diagrams of the screen, not screenshots.

Step by step

1. Open Settings and tap Digital Wellbeing & parental controls

   It is further down the main Settings list.

   Done

2. Tap the chart or App limits

   The circle shows your screen time today. Tap it, or tap Dashboard, to open the list of apps. On Samsung, tap App timers.

   Done

3. Tap the hourglass next to an app

   Apps are sorted by how long you used them. Tap the hourglass icon on the right of the app you want to limit.

   Done

4. Choose the time and tap OK

   Set hours and minutes per day and tap OK. The timer resets at midnight.

   Done

Good to know

To change or remove a timer, come back to the same list and tap the hourglass again, then Delete timer.

A timer you set yourself is easy to remove. For a child, use Google Family Link, where the limit is locked with the parent's account.

Focus mode, on the same page, pauses several apps at once for a period you start by hand or on a schedule.

In short: Settings, Digital Wellbeing, Dashboard, hourglass next to the app, set the time.