Uh oh. It seems we may soon be able to keep track of how much of our lives we’ve wasted stalking our exes on Instagram.
CEO Kevin Systrom confirmed in a tweet that the company is building a “Usage Insights feature” that will allow Instagrammers to track how much time they spend on the app.
It’s true. RT @TechCrunch: Code buried in Instagram’s Android app reveals a “Usage Insights” feature that will show users their “time spent” https://t.co/1Lt3DgIFEj
— Kevin S. (@kevin) May 16, 2018
We’re building tools that will help the IG community know more about the time they spend on Instagram – any time should be positive and intentional.
— Kevin S. (@kevin) May 16, 2018
What that means is Instagram is willing to sacrifice potential ad views for the sake of the mental wellbeing of their user base. Certainly some well-deserved brownie points there.
In theory, by freaking users out with the outrageous amount of time they burn on their app, the company might help encourage people to adopt other healthier habits like, well, actually reading the books they post about or talking to the people who appear in their selfies.
And again, in theory, these features could also help parents keep track of how much time their children spend online.
The upcoming “time spent” feature was spotted by developer Jane Manchun Wong who discovered the code inside the Instagram for Android application package (APK).
It’s not the first time Wong has discovered un-launched features in popular apps. She also spotted Facebook Avatars and Twitter’s encrypted DMs.
Aside from fishing out the upcoming “time spent” feature, Wong also found in Instagram’s APK a new commenting interface with an Emoji Bar that will let you type in the most popular emoji with a single tap.
Instagram is testing “Usage Insights” to show the amount of time users have spent on the app
Be self-aware or be prepared to be ashamed for Instagram addiction pic.twitter.com/WzyRGWIOgZ
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) May 15, 2018
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