Google launched its Digital WellBeing program last year at the Google I/O 2018. Since then it has expanded it reach by adding new features like Wind Down and bringing more apps and services, like YouTube, under its ambit. Now, Google has launched Digital WellBeing Experiments, a program that encourages app developers and designers to build digital wellbeing into their products.
To kick off its Digital WellBeing Experiments, Google has introduced six new apps in the Play Store. Google says that each of these experiments or apps is centered around a different behavior and offers ways to help improve users' digital wellbeing.
"We've open-sourced the code and created guides for others to make their own experiments. We hope these experiments inspire developers and designers to keep digital wellbeing top of mind when building technology," Google Creative Lab team lead, Emma Turpin wrote in a blog post.
Here are the six Digital WellBeing Experiments that Google has launched:
Unlock Clock
This Experiment is essentially a live wallpaper that counts the number of time you have unlocked your phone in a day. The counter starts at 0 and goes on till the number of times you access your phone. Google says that this experiment will not appear as an app. Instead, you can access it in the Live Wallpaper library section of your smartphone once you have downloaded it from the Play Store.
Post Box
This app helps users minimise distractions by bundling all the notifications in a specified time together. Users can choose how often they would want their notifications to be delivered. "When they arrive, they'll be neatly organised for you to go through," Google wrote in the description of the app.
Morph
During the course of a day, we are often bombarded with notifications. While a Facebook or an Instagram notification during the work hours might prove to be distraction when you are at work, a work mail in the midst of your yoga class might prove to be equally distracting when you are focusing on your health. Morph aims to change that by helping users sort through notifications based on their location and time. "Based on time or place, your phone will automatically adapt - giving you just the right apps at just the right time," Google wrote.
We Flip
This app aims to help people disconnect with their phones when they are sitting in a group. The idea is simple. When all the phones with the We Flip app are in a vicinity they are connected to each other via the Nearby permission. Uses can flip the switch to start a session. When a person unlocks their phones the session will end and all the users will be able to see how well they did in the game.
Desert Island
This apps aims to help focus on their essential apps in a day. Users can pick up to seven essential apps. After 24 hours they can see if they can stick to using the essential apps without accessing other apps on their smartphone.
Paper Phone
Last app on the list is Paper Phone, which aims to cut down the usage of phone by helping users take a printout of the key information that they would need in that day. Users can choose details such as favourite contacts, maps and meetings and then prints them directly to a sheet of paper.