Facebook has launched a new feature called “Quiet Mode” that will allow you to minimize distractions by muting the app’s push notification for a time frame you specify. The company announced the change as an update on its COVID-19 newsroom post, describing it as a way for users to set boundaries around how they spend their time on Facebook as they adjust to new routines and working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Facebook’s new ‘Quiet Mode’ option lets you turn off the app’s push notifications: https://t.co/bXXVTM592L
— Sarah Perez (@SarahPerezTC) April 9, 2020
According to Facebook, you can either turn on or off Quiet Mode as needed or you can schedule it to run automatically at designated times. For example, if you work from home from 9 AM to 5 PM, you could set Quiet Mode to automatically run during your workday to reduce your temptation to waste time in the app.
If you try to use Facebook during Quiet Mode, the app will remind you that you’ve set this time aside with the goal of limiting your time in the app, the company explains.
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The controls for Quiet Mode will be found in a new section on Facebook where you can view other data about your time spent on Facebook’s platform. Here, you’ll be able to browse charts that show you the time you’ve spent on Facebook on a daily basis, a comparison of your daytime versus nighttime use, and another chart that lets you see how many times you opened the Facebook app each day.
Facebook introduced it’s first “time spent” charts back in 2018, but their appearance has changed to better match the style of this new “Your Time on Facebook” section, rolling out today. Facebook has also now added more analysis, including new, week-over-week trends, the time of day charges, and the chart displaying the number of visits.
FB’s dark mode feature
Facebook has allowed desktop users opt-in to dark mode. Facebook told international media that “Majority of people on Facebook will have access to the new desktop design.” This includes dark mode, which can be toggled on and off via the Settings drop-down menu.
If you use Facebook’s desktop version, you’ll likely see a banner at the top of the page, asking if you want to try the “New Facebook.” For now, you can still switch back to “Classic Facebook” if you choose, but the redesign will become the default later this year.
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Other changes include centralized tabs for Facebook Watch, Marketplace, Groups and Gaming. Even if users don’t like all aspects of the redesigned interface, dark mode will likely be popular. It’s already available in a number of Facebook-owned apps, including Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. Plus, this is a good chance, as users are looking at their screens even more during the coronavirus pandemic, and this new mode could help reduce some eyestrain.
Facebook first began testing the rollout publicly in October, and it seems positive feedback led it to today’s rollout. It comes just weeks after Facebook launched a sweeping redesign of Messenger that removed its Discover tab, demoting the visibility of businesses and chatbots. It also has other features like Facebook Track Display Ads to non-Facebook Users. The company has spent the last two years promising to simplify its apps after a decade of making them more visually complex.