App that helps you unplug without missing urgent matters

Washington:A new app is here to not only help identify your bad habits - such as spending an inordinate amount of time on the phone - but also suggest ways to get rid of them.

A German psychologist Alexander Steinhart has developed the app called OFFTIME in collaboration with the Humboldt University of Berlin and designer Michael Dettbarn.

A study at Humboldt University found that users were unlocking their phones 63 times per day.

"After using the app, that number declined. Users just unplugged for at least two hours per day," Steinhart was quoted as saying in media reports.

The app is designed in such a way that you can unplug without missing urgent matters.

It lets you list contacts who can pierce through your downtime, like your spouse or children, but otherwise shuts down apps, calls, texts and emails.

The app can also auto-respond to incoming messages on your behalf while maintaining a careful activity log of everything you missed, while away, so you can quickly catch up.

Offtime also provides similar insights about your usage of your phone like charting out hours spent on the device, and even detailing which individual apps are consuming your time the most.

Offtime is currently available for Android users.