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Microsoft, at its Build 2019 conference, says you need to put down that phone

The software giant's company MyAnalytics software in its Office 365 service will soon encourage people to focus on their "digital well-being."

Ian Sherr Contributor and Former Editor at Large / News
Ian Sherr (he/him/his) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, so he's always had a connection to the tech world. As an editor at large at CNET, he wrote about Apple, Microsoft, VR, video games and internet troubles. Aside from writing, he tinkers with tech at home, is a longtime fencer -- the kind with swords -- and began woodworking during the pandemic.
Ian Sherr
2 min read
Mobile World Congress 2019 Brands

Microsoft is jumping on the digital health bandwagon.

Gety Images

For the past couple years, tech companies like Apple , Google and even Facebook have been doing something seemingly against their interests: Encouraging us to stop using them.

On Monday, Microsoft joined those companies by encouraging business people to be more mindful of their time too. The new features, built into the company's Office 365 business productivity service for Windows PCs, Macs and mobile devices, tracks how people use their computers and then displays that information on a dashboard.

For example, Microsoft's software will soon start showing people how often they focused on a task and for how long. And it will also cheer them on if they successfully disconnected after work. You can even set goals for how often you have quiet days, Microsoft said.

Read on ZDNetMicrosoft Build 2019: Azure is the star, and Windows is a bit player 

The new features, announced at the company's Build developer conference in Seattle, are the latest in a growing trend of tech companies aiming to make us feel better about using their devices and services. They're doing this by encouraging us to be more mindful about how much of our lives get taken up by technology in the first place.

At Apple, this comes as part of a feature called Screen Time, which shows you how often you use your phone and what types of apps you're using most. You can also set limits on how long you can use specific apps, like Facebook. Google's Android software for phones and tablets has a tool called Digital Wellbeing that offers similar features. Even Facebook and Instagram, which are often derided as places people zone out and lose hours tapping and scrolling, have a screen time feature.

For Microsoft, these features are part of a broader refinement to Microsoft's Office 365 business software. The suite, which includes access to the company's popular Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook apps, is used by 180 million people.

Microsoft said the new features will be available "in the next few months."