Out of curiosity, have you ever wanted to measure the time you spend glued to the television? It happens to all of us at some point, although it usually happens when we realize that we are really wasting a lot of time in front of it.
But what if we told you that there is an app that does that and more? With TVUsage you will not only be able to know the time you spend on your smart TV, but you will also be able to measure the time you use each application on Android TV . It is a very functional app, one of the best apps for android TV, which will also help you improve your consumption habits.
TVUsage, the “Digital Wellbeing” for Android TV
With the arrival of Android 9, Google integrated an application into the system that allows you to track everything you do on your mobile. Thus, it lets you know the time you spend in an app, set usage alerts, configure “rest” and “no distraction” modes, and much more.
This app is great, but unfortunately Google still doesn’t include something like it on Android TV. However, there is always someone willing to save the day on Android, and in this case it is the AppKiddo development team.
They developed TVUsage, an application that allows you to easily know all the viewing and usage statistics of Android TV and its apps . But that’s not all, since it also allows you to block applications with a PIN, either because you don’t want your child to see it, or because someone at home abused the time. Anyway, a fairly simple parental control system.
TVUsage: Simple to use and adapts perfectly to Android TV
One of the things that we liked the most about TVUsage is that it integrates very well with the Android TV menus, and navigation with the remote control . All the options are easy to locate, and although the application is in English only, it is very intuitive and this does not cause any problems. Besides, it has no advertising of any kind.
Configure TVUsage to access app statistics
Setting up TVUsage is as simple as using it, and these are the steps you must follow:
- Download and install TVUsage on your Android TV from the Play Store.
- When you start it, the application will ask for your permission to access the usage data of Android TV and other apps. It is imperative that
you do so. - Press “Open settings” in the TVUsage interface.
- In the settings menu that opens, navigate to the “Permissions” section and there enter “Special application permissions” .
- Access the “Usage Data” option and activate TVUsage .
Ready! With that TVUsage will already be configured, and you will be able to access the application board where you will see the usage time of each one. Likewise, you will be able to see more detailed statistics when accessing each app separately within TVUsage.
Lock an application with TVUsage using a security PIN
If you found it easy to configure TVUsage, then you will find it even easier to lock an app on Android TV so that no one accesses it without permission. You just have to do the following:
- On the main TVUsage screen, go to “Settings” .
- Access the “PIN lock” option .
- Set a security PIN and confirm .
With this you will already have the lock configured, but now it is necessary to activate it in each application, establishing the conditions of use.
- Enter the panel of any application in TVUsage.
- In the “Screen time limit” section, set the maximum time for that application.
- Confirm the changes by pressing “Set” and you’re done.
Now, when an application reaches that time of use in the same day, it will automatically lock itself, and it will ask for the unlock PIN. To unlock the app, you can do it directly from Android TV, or from your mobile, by accessing the IP that TVUsage indicates on the screen with your browser.
You can also configure TVUsage to show a notice about the usage time you have given an application when you open it. It is a process as simple as the previous ones, and you can see it in the video that we leave above.
TVUsage is available to download on the Play Store
TVUsage is available on the Play Store, and its free version allows you to see general usage statistics . While, if you pay for the premium version within the app, you will get access to advanced statistics and blocking applications by PIN.
Honestly, it’s a very good app, and it covers the absence of “Digital Well-being” on Android TV. Will Google at some point include this feature in its operating system for smart TVs? We wait and see.
