According to a report by TechCrunch, Instagram has altered its time limit settings, forcing users to update them. While users, initially, had the option of selecting a time limit as low as 5 minutes, the new setting has risen that limit to 30 minutes, which can increase to 3 hours.

One user who previously had set a 10-minute daily limit sent screenshots to TechCrunch. The user saw a popup at the top of their daily feed, which urged them to set a new daily limit in accordance with the new settings. 

Although the popup tells users can keep the current limit if they wish, if they were to click the edit button, they will be directed to another page to set a new limit, the lowest of which is 30 minutes.

According to a The Verge reporter, the available limit options are 30 minutes, 45 minutes, one hour, two hours, and three hours. 

Meta did not respond to questions and requests for comments by The Verge. 

In 2018, Instagram introduced new measures which allow users to set daily time limits, prompting them to spend their time on the app in a more economized and effective way, and allowing the preservation of their well-being. The measure was a response to criticism that social media is having a negative effect on people's use of time and health.

“We want to empower people to make intentional decisions about how much time they spend, and how they want to engage with the app,” Ameet Ranadive, who leads a user wellbeing team at Instagram, told The Verge in 2018.

However, the present decision seems to contradict those words.