By: Brittany A. Roston

Earlier this yearو youtube joined the big giants in their fight against internet addiction. It has launched a break reminder tool on Android, enabling users to set a certain amount of time they could watch videos before getting a reminder to step away. That original tool offered reminder options in specific preset blocks of time, such as 15 minutes and 30 minutes. A new update changes that, making the feature far more useful.

The idea here is that YouTube is, like many social apps, potentially addictive. It’s easy to get sucked into short, punchy, flashy videos, one after the other, not realizing how much time has passed until eye strain sets in. Reminders are a simple solution for breaking users out of their stupor and making them aware of the need to put their phone or tablet down.

Specific preset chunks of time aren’t necessarily useful for users, though, who may need a reminder in, for example, 45 minutes instead of 30 or 60 minutes. That makes the updated feature a welcome change: you can now choose your own block of time down to the very minute.

Users can now set a specific number of hours and minutes, getting a reminder every instance that duration of time has passed. So, for example, the user can choose to get a reminder every 1 hour and 22 minutes, and YouTube will pop up with an alert to take a break that frequently. Some users are seeing the feature now and everyone else should get it in the near future.