How to set daily app time limits on Android
Set app time limits on Android with the app timers built into many phones, or with Applore's free App usage limits.
Short answer
Before you start
- A phone with Android 8.0 or later.
- For Applore: usage access, so Applore can see how long you use each app, and permission to display over other apps, so it can show the lock screen. Applore asks for both when you first open the feature. What usage access means.
- About two minutes per app.
Steps without Applore
Google’s Digital Wellbeing is built into many Android phones. Menu names vary by manufacturer, and some phones call it Digital Wellbeing & parental controls. If you cannot find it, search Settings for App timers.
- Open Settings and tap Digital Wellbeing.
- Tap Dashboard or App timers, depending on your phone.
- Next to the app you want to limit, tap Set timer, or tap the hourglass icon.
- Choose how much time you want each day, then tap OK.
Google states that when you run out of time, “the app closes and its icon dims”, and that app timers reset at midnight. [1]
Steps with Applore
- Open Applore. On the Home tab, scroll to Mental Wellbeing and tap App usage limits.
- If Applore asks, allow usage access and display over other apps. Android opens the right settings screen for each; turn Applore on, then go back.
- Under Tap on any app to limit, tap the app you want to limit.
- Choose the hours and minutes you want each day, then confirm. The app moves to Limited Apps.
- To change a limit, tap the app again. To remove it, set the time to 0 hours and 0 minutes.
Applore checks the limit when you open or switch to a limited app. Once today’s time for that app is used up, Applore shows a lock screen over it. If you have set an App Lock PIN, Applore asks for it before you change limits that are active.
Applore Free shows ads outside the safety screens, including on wellbeing screens. Applore Pro removes ads.
Common problems
I passed my limit but the app still opened
Applore adds up the time from the sessions you have closed, and checks it when you open or switch to the app. If you stay in the app, the time counts once you leave it, and the lock screen appears the next time you open it.
The limit does nothing at all
Check that Applore still has usage access and display over other apps in Settings. Without permission to display over other apps, Applore cannot show the lock screen. On some Xiaomi phones, also allow Display pop-up windows while running in the background.
The limit stops working after a while
Some phone makers stop background apps to save battery. In Settings › Apps › Applore › Battery, choose Unrestricted or Don’t optimise. Menu names vary by manufacturer.
My phone has no Digital Wellbeing
Some phones use their own screen-time tool under a different name, and some have none. Applore’s App usage limits work either way.
What stays private
Your limits and your usage information stay on your phone. Applore uses usage access only on the device, and does not send it to analytics or advertisers. Read why Applore asks for each permission.
Next steps
- Block distracting apps for a while with Focus Mode and Paused Apps.
- See everything in digital wellbeing, including Super Focus Mode and your screen time.
Questions
What happens when the limit is reached?
With Android's app timers, Google says the app closes and its icon dims until midnight. With Applore's App usage limits, Applore checks the time when you open or switch to the app. Once today's time is used up, it shows a lock screen over the app. To give yourself more time, change or remove the limit in Mental Wellbeing › App usage limits.
Does the limit work on phones without Digital Wellbeing?
Yes. Applore's App usage limits do not depend on Digital Wellbeing. They work on Android 8.0 and up, as long as Applore has usage access and permission to display over other apps. Some phone makers stop apps in the background to save battery, so allow Applore to run without battery restrictions.
Sources
- Manage how you spend time on your Android phone with Digital Wellbeing, Android Help. Checked 2026-09-15.