How to set 'take a break' reminders when watching videos on the YouTube mobile app
- To make sure you're not spending too much time on YouTube, you can set take a break reminders on the app, which will pop up and pause your videos after the interval of your choosing.
- You can set take a break reminders on YouTube to occur as often as every five minutes or as infrequently as once daily.
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True story: In doing research for this article, I inadvertently watched old Seinfeld clips on YouTube for about 10 minutes before I snapped back to attention and realized I was in the middle of the workday.
YouTube is an amazing platform with more content than you could enjoy in a lifetime, but if you're not careful, you'll spend too much of said lifetime watching videos.
To save yourself from your own YouTube addiction, it's a good idea to set regular break reminders, something the evidently self-aware YouTube app makes it easy to do.
Here's how to do it via the YouTube app on your iPhone or Android.
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How to set take a break reminders on YouTube
1. From the YouTube app home screen, tap your icon at the top right corner of the screen.
2. Tap the word "Settings" on the menu that pops up.
Steven John/Business InsiderTap Settings in your account menu.
3. Tap the toggle beside the words "Remind me to take a break."
Steven John/Business InsiderToggle on the "Remind me to take a break" section.
4. Scroll to the hour and minute frequency you wish, then tap "OK."
When the break reminder pops up, it will pause the video that's playing. You can dismiss it and get back to the video, or you can close YouTube and get back to your life.
And note that you can also get to the break reminder by clicking "Time watched" on the Account menu (instead of clicking Settings in step two above) - in fact, after seeing how much time you have spent on the site, you just might want to do so.
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How to create a YouTube playlist, add or remove videos, and set its privacy settings