How to use Focus mode on Android to pause distracting apps

2 min read · 7 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

Short answer

Open Settings, tap Digital Wellbeing & parental controls and tap Focus mode. Tick the apps that distract you and tap Turn on now. Those apps are greyed out and send no notifications until you switch Focus mode off. With Set a schedule it turns on by itself at the times you choose.

Focus mode is the gentle version of deleting an app. The apps you choose are paused for a while: their icons turn grey, they cannot be opened by habit, and their notifications are held back. Everything else on the phone works as usual.

Menu names below are from Google Pixel phones and Google's own apps on a recent Android version. Samsung, Xiaomi and other brands rename some of them.

Step by step

  1. Open Digital Wellbeing

    Open Settings and tap Digital Wellbeing & parental controls. The chart at the top shows how long you have used the phone today, how often you unlocked it and how many notifications arrived. Tap it for the figures per app.

  2. Tap Focus mode

    You see a list of your apps.

  3. Choose the apps to pause

    Tick social media, games, news, shopping and whatever else pulls you away. Leave on what you need, such as phone, messages from family, maps and banking.

  4. Tap Turn on now

    The chosen apps are paused at once.

  5. Or set a schedule

    Tap Set a schedule and choose days and times, for example working hours on weekdays. Focus mode then starts and ends by itself.

  6. Take a short break

    If you do need a paused app, tap its grey icon and choose to use it for a few minutes, or use the Take a break option in the Focus mode notification. The pause returns afterwards.

  7. Switch it off

    Tap Turn off now in the same place, or tap the Focus mode tile in the quick settings.

Good to know

App timers, in the same menu, set a daily allowance for one app. When it is used up, the app closes until midnight: how to set a daily time limit for apps on Android.

For the night, Bedtime mode dims and silences the phone: how to turn on Bedtime mode on Android.

To silence calls and messages as well: how to turn on Do Not Disturb on Android.

Ideas that do not depend on the phone: how to focus better.

In short: Settings, Digital Wellbeing, Focus mode, tick the apps, Turn on now or Set a schedule. Take a break when needed, Turn off now to end.

Sources
  • Android Help: Manage how you spend time on your Android phone with Digital Wellbeing

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