Facebook and Instagram are set to introduce new tools to help people manage their time on the social media networks, including a time limit and a dashboard showing users how much time they have spent scrolling.
The new tools will allow users to set limits on the amount of time spent in the apps, which will send notifications when that limit is reached.
People will also be able to see bar charts showing the amount of time spent in the app over a week-long period, along with a daily average.
"We developed these tools based on collaboration and inspiration from leading mental health experts and organisations, academics, our own extensive research and feedback from our community," Ameet Ranadive and David Ginsberg, Instagram's product management director and Facebook's director of research, said in a blog post.
"We want the time people spend on Facebook and Instagram to be intentional, positive and inspiring.
"Our hope is that these tools give people more control over the time they spend on our platforms and also foster conversations between parents and teens about the online habits that are right for them."
Users will be able to access the tools through the settings tab in both apps, which will be labelled "Your Time on Facebook" and "Your Activity" on Instagram.
One of the main criticisms levelled at the social media giants has been their effect on mental health, and late last year Facebook published a post acknowledging the negative effects of spending too much passive time on the platform.
Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said last year that he wanted "the time people spend on Facebook to encourage meaningful social interactions", and the company has since introduced a range of measures to increase control over what people see.
The news comes after Facebook lost $US119 billion in value last week, marking its worst trading day since it went public in 2012, over a string of privacy scandals and a slowing rate of new users.
