What is Digital Wellbeing?

What is Digital Wellbeing?

Digital Wellbeing is Android's set of screen time tools: a dashboard of how long you use each app, how many notifications you get and how often you unlock the phone, plus app timers, a bedtime mode and a focus mode. You reach it from Settings > Digital Wellbeing & parental controls. Google makes the version on Pixels and most other Android phones, and Samsung builds its own version for Galaxy phones.

Google's version offers daily app timers, Bedtime mode (grayscale screen and Do Not Disturb on a schedule) and Focus mode, which pauses chosen apps with one tap or on a schedule. Samsung's version, documented on Samsung's support site, offers a screen time goal, app timers, Sleep mode (formerly Bedtime mode), a volume monitor for headphones and a driving monitor that tracks phone use while connected to a car over Bluetooth. Some of Samsung's options have moved into Modes and Routines on recent One UI versions.

Both versions also act as the doorway to parental controls, which link to Google Family Link.

Can I disable it?

You can, but it is an advanced change because Settings depends on it on some phones, and turning off the tracking alone is usually enough. Settings often offers no Disable button for it, so the dependable route is ADB:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.apps.wellbeing

On a Galaxy phone the package is Samsung's:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.samsung.android.forest

What to expect: screen time stats, app timers, Bedtime or Sleep mode and Focus mode stop working. Community reports note that on Pixels running Android 12 and later, the Settings entry for Digital Wellbeing can be left blank until a restart, and that Samsung DeX can become unstable without Samsung's version. If you use DeX, leave it on.

A lighter option keeps everything working but stops the tracking. On Google's version, open Digital Wellbeing, tap the menu and choose Manage your data, where you can turn off daily device usage. On either version you can also hide the app icon from your app list in its settings.

Does it drain battery or data?

It uses very little battery, because Android records app usage anyway and Digital Wellbeing mainly reads and summarizes that record. You may see it in battery lists because it runs at set times: when bedtime starts and ends, when a timer runs out, or when it builds the daily summary.

It uses almost no data. The dashboard is built on the phone, and the only network traffic is the app's own updates and, if you use Family Link, the link to the parent's account.

If Digital Wellbeing shows a steady battery share, check for a Focus mode or Bedtime schedule that toggles many times a day, or a large number of app timers.

Why did it just update?

It updated because Google ships its Digital Wellbeing app through the Google Play Store, so new versions arrive between system updates. They bring new features, such as changes to Focus mode or bedtime scheduling, and bug fixes.

Samsung's version updates through the Galaxy Store and with One UI system updates, which is when its menus tend to change, as when Samsung moved some options into Modes and Routines.

Which packages are behind it?

Two packages, depending on the phone:

• com.google.android.apps.wellbeing is Google's Digital Wellbeing, found on Pixels and many other Android phones.
• com.samsung.android.forest is Samsung's Digital Wellbeing on Galaxy phones. Settings never shows this package name, which is why it puzzles people who find it in ADB lists.

A phone normally has only one of these as the active Digital Wellbeing screen.

If something goes wrong

If screen time numbers look wrong or timers stop working, restart the phone and update Digital Wellbeing first; most stuck dashboards come back after an update. Next, clear its cache from Settings > Apps > Digital Wellbeing > Storage > Clear cache.

If the screen turns grey at night and you do not want it to, open Digital Wellbeing and turn off the Bedtime mode (or Sleep mode) schedule. If an app's icon is greyed out and will not open, an app timer has run out for the day; remove or extend the timer in Digital Wellbeing.

If the dashboard shows no data at all, check that Digital Wellbeing still has usage access: Settings > Apps > Special app access > Usage access, then make sure it is allowed.

To bring back a version you disabled with ADB:

adb shell pm enable com.google.android.apps.wellbeing
adb shell cmd package install-existing com.google.android.apps.wellbeing

On Samsung, use com.samsung.android.forest in the same commands, then restart.